Barcelona welcome Malaga to the Nou Camp in the first leg of their quarter-final clash in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

The two sides met in the league on Sunday, with the Catalan outfit emerging as 3-1 winners from the Estadio La Rosaleda, a result that continued their quite incredible start to the season.

Malaga's form has dipped in recent weeks, but they remain in fifth position in the table and within a real chance of finishing in the top four come the end of the season.

Barcelona advanced to this stage of the competition with a comfortable win over Cordoba, but Malaga found things tough in the first leg against Eibar, before advancing with a 4-1 win at home.

The Catalans also enter the match having won five of their last five matches between the two sides, scoring 18 goals in the process and conceding just five times.

The home side are expected to make a host of changes with Jose Pinto, Carlos Puyol and Adriano all coming into the team. Meanwhile, Thiago and Alexis Sanchez should also both start.

Malaga are also expected to ring the chances from the league clash at the weekend, with Manuel Iturra and Diego Buonanotte, who has scored three goals in his last two games, given the nod.

Recent form:

Barcelona: WWWWW
Malaga: DWLWL

Possible lineups:

Barcelona: Pinto; Montoya, Puyol, Pique, Adriano; Thiago, Iniesta, Song; Sanchez, Villa, Tello

Malaga: Kameni; Onyewu, Weligton, Demichelis, Monreal; Iturra, Portillo, Camacho, Buonanotte; Saviola, Santa Cruz

Sports Mole says: 3-1

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