FOOTBALL UPDATE

Barcelona heads into the Copa del Rey match against Leganes in a delicate situation after losing points in a loss against Valencia.  The heavy defeat to Valencia and the doubts generated by the victories over Granada and Ibiza have set off alarm bells in Barcelona.  The duel against Leganés in the Copa del Rey comes at a delicate time for Quique Setién and his charges, at a time when he needs to get back to their game and get a comfortable win. For that reason, as 'AS' reports, it is expected that the Cantabrian technician, after the fright of the previous round, puts out his strongest starting XI yet, with captain Lionel Messi leading the charge.  The Argentinean star did not even make the squad against Ibiza, but is now expected to lead the Catalan team in the Round of 16. It would be the star's debut in this year's Copa del Rey competition and his first match since last season's final against Valencia, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.  In addition to th...

A Lucas Vazquez brace helped send a very unconvincing Real Madrid to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals after a 2-2 draw in their Round of 16 second leg with second division side Numancia on Wednesday night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.  The result gave Real a 5-2 win on aggregate after last week's 3-0 first-leg triumph in Soria.Lucas Vazquez's brace was offset by a pair of goals from Numancia striker Guillermo, who came off the bench in the 41st minute for the injured Higinio and bagged himself two goals for the visitors.The result will only increase the criticism that Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has been receiving in recent weeks. Outside of a 20-minute window at the start of the second-half, there was little to feel good about from the Real perspective and extended the side's winless streak to three. Zidane fielded a reserve-heavy starting XI, with Dani Carvajal the only normal starter included after the right-back had been suspended for last Sunda...