Will Coutinho start and talking points as Barcelona face Valencia in Copa del Rey

This has been a remarkably smooth season so far for Barcelona, who have breezed through both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League as well as establishing an 11-point lead at the top of La Liga.

Sunday’s meeting with Alaves, though, was the most difficult game they have encountered for a long time, with a shock home defeat looking on the cards for a long time after John Guidetti opened the scoring for the visitors. Eventually late goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi rescued the points for Ernesto Valverde’s men, but the game could be seen as a warning sign that their progress might not be quite so straightforward for the remainder of the season.

In particular, Barca suffered from a lack of attacking penetration until striker Paco Alcacer stepped off the bench to give his team a greater sense of purpose and direction, and Valverde must be toying with the idea of starting the Spanish international frontman against his former club tonight.

Of course, Sunday’s game – which did still result in victory – could prove to be nothing more than a minor blip, but another disjointed performance in this cup semi-final, with silverware on the line, would set alarm bells ringing that Barca might be starting to lose their way.

Will Coutinho start? And if so, where?

Sunday’s meeting with Alaves was also notable for January signing Philippe Coutinho making his full debut for Barca, and it was a fairly promising performance from the ex-Liverpool man before he was withdrawn from the action midway through the second half.

However, the Brazilian’s selection on the right-hand side of midfield reopened the debate about where he will fit into his new team, with many observers noting that it was an unusual position for a player who has always appeared more comfortable cutting inside onto his right foot from the left-hand side.

Ultimately, Coutinho’s best chance with Barca will probably be to establish himself as the long-term replacement for Andres Iniesta in the ‘interior’ position to the left of centre in midfield, but the fact that the club captain was also selected against Alaves prevented Coutinho from playing there at the weekend.

On Thursday night, however, manager Ernesto Valverde is expected to rest Iniesta to keep him fresh for the resumption of the Champions League, potentially opening the door for Coutinho to make his first start for his new club in his favoured position. If so, all eyes will be upon him as he takes his first steps in the almost impossible task of replacing an icon.

Revenge-minded Valencia on the slide?

Valencia have harrowing memories of their last Copa del Rey visit to Camp Nou, suffering a nightmarish semi-final first leg 7-0 thrashing as Gary Neville’s brief and ill-fated reign reached crisis point a couple of years ago.

Considering the strides made by Los Che under new manager Marcelino it’s almost unthinkable that such a heavy defeat will be repeated this time around, and the few Valencia survivors from that wretched night – including skipper Dani Parejo – will certainly have a huge extra incentive to put up a better fight.

However, Valencia’s confidence has been dented with a disappointing run of results in recent weeks, with Saturday’s 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid – a margin of scoreline which flattered the victors – marking a fifth loss in 11 outings for Marcelino’s men.

And Valencia’s quest is not helped by injury problems, depriving them of four key players for tonight’s game, with experienced central defenders Ezequiel Garay and Jeison Murillo, all-action midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and dangerous winger Goncalo Guedes all missing out.