Cup semifinal schedule, confirmed

Barça will play against the winner of the Levante-Valencia match on Wednesday, February 1st. The return leg, at the Camp Nou, is scheduled for February 8th. Both matches will start at 21.00



The schedule for the King’s Cup semifinal matches have been set. FC Barcelona, whose opponent will come out of tonight’s Levante-Valencia match, will play the first leg away from the Camp Nou. The first match will be played on Wednesday, February 1 at 21.00. While the return match at the Camp Nou will take place a week later, Wednesday the 8th, also at 21.00.

The other semifinal between Mirandés and Athletic Club will be played on the 31st of January and the 7th of Februrary, both kickoff times are at 22.00.

FC Barcelona 2011/2012 Liga Schedule

Lo and behold, the RFEF and the LFP have kindly decided to give us an idea of when matches are to be played next season, to help us get over our bad case of football withdrawal.



Keep in mind that this doesn’t tell the time, which is decided 7-10 days before the actual match (and they can be moved to Saturday or even Monday, too). So, if you’re planning a trip to watch one of these matches… well, don’t plan too long ahead. Live in the moment! Embrace spontaneity!
In any case, save the date for the Clásicos, which this season will be on Sunday, December 11 (Real Madrid – FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, though this might change depending on the dates of the Club World Cup) and on Sunday, April 22 (FC Barcelona – Real Madrid, at the Camp Nou).
Find the complete Barça 2011/2012 Liga Schedule under the jump:
2011
August 14 (at 22:00 CET): Spanish Supercup (first leg): Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
August 17 (at 23:00 CET): Spanish Supercup (return leg): FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
August 21: La Liga: Málaga – FC Barcelona CALLED OFF BECAUSE OF PLAYERS’ STRIKE. Moved to the JANUARY 22.
August 26: European Supercup: FC Barcelona – FC Porto
August 29: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Villarreal
September 11: La Liga: Real Sociedad- FC Barcelona
September 13: Champions League: FC Barcelona – AC Milan
September 18: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Osasuna
September 21: La Liga: Valencia – FC Barcelona
September 25: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Atlético de Madrid
September 28: Champions League: BATE-FC Barcelona
October 2: La Liga: Sporting de Gijón – FC Barcelona
October 16: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Racing
October 19: Champions League: FC Barcelona – FC Viktoria
October 23: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Sevilla
October 26: La Liga: Granada – FC Barcelona
October 30: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Mallorca
November 1: Champions League: FC Viktoria – FC Barcelona
November 6: La Liga: Athletic de Bilbao – FC Barcelona
November 9: Copa del Rey: L’Hospitalet – FC Barcelona
November 20: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Zaragoza
November 23: Champions League: AC Milan – FC Barcelona
November 27: La Liga: Getafe – FC Barcelona
November 30: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Rayo Vallecano (moved from December 18 due to the Club World Cup)
December 4: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Levante
December 6: Champions League: FCBarcelona – BATE
December 11: La Liga: Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
December 18: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Rayo Vallecano (moved to November 30 due to the Club World Cup)
December 15: Club World Cup Semifinals: ??? – FC Barcelona
December 21: Copa del Rey: FC Barcelona – L’Hospitalet
2012
January 4: Copa del Rey: FC Barcelona – Osasuna
January 8: La Liga: Espanyol – FC Barcelona
January 12: Copa del Rey: Osasuna – FC Barcelona
January 15: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Betis
January 18: Copa del Rey: Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
January 22: La Liga: Málaga – FC Barcelona (moved here from August 21 due to the players’ strike; the FC Barcelona – Málaga to be played on this date will be moved to a yet to be determined date in May)
January 25: Copa del Rey: FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
January 28: La Liga: Villarreal – FC Barcelona
February 5: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Sociedad
February 12: La Liga: Osasuna – FC Barcelona
February 19: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Valencia
February 26: La Liga: Atlético de Madrid – FC Barcelona
March 4: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Sporting de Gijón
March 11: La Liga: Racing – FC Barcelona
March 18: La Liga: Sevilla – FC Barcelona
March 21: FC Barcelona – Granada
March 25: Mallorca – FC Barcelona
April 1: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Athletic de Bilbao
April 8: La Liga: Zaragoza – FC Barcelona
April 11: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Getafe
April 15: La Liga: Levante – FC Barcelona
April 22: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
April 29: La Liga: Rayo Vallecano – FC Barcelona
May 6: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Espanyol
May 13: La Liga: Real Betis – FC Barcelona
May tbd: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Málaga (to be moved to a new date due to the disturbances caused by the players’ strike on the first week)

Emery yet to get better of Barça

The goalscoring in these games is very much in favour of the Catalans, who have scored eleven goals and conceded just one


On the four occasions that he has come to the stadium, the first as manager of Almeria and the other three with Valencia, Unai Emery has always lost

Unai Emery doesn't have a lot of luck against Barça. Whether managing Almeria or Valencia, the coach has never won in ten attempts, with five wins and five draws. His teams have scored 8 goals in this time, while letting in 19.

Not only has he never beaten Barcelona, but he has lost every time he has come to the Camp Nou, where he'll be back on Wednesday for the Copa del Rey semi final. He first came here back in 2007/08, when he was in charge of Almeria. He lost then, and then lost three more times as manager of Valencia – all of which were league games.

Goals for Messi

When Unai Emery came to the Camp Nou in 2007/08 his Almeria side lost 2-0 to goals from Henry and Messi. From the 2008-09 season onwards, it was as Valencia coach that Emery came to Barcelona, losing on his first visit by a heavy 4-0 thanks to a hat trick from an inspired Thierry Henry and another from Dani Alves.

Nothing changed the two seasons after that. In 2009/10 his side was the victim of another hat trick, this time from Messi (3-0). In 2010/11, Valencia actually took an early lead through Pablo Hernández. But Josep Guardiola's side managed to turn the game around with goals from Iniesta and Carles Puyol (2-1). In games at the Camp Nou, therefore, the goals have very much been in favour of the home side, who have hit the target 11 times and conceded just one.

Guardiola: “It's a very demanding match”

The manager believes that the match against Valencia this Wednesday will be “very demanding,” and that the “players need match ready” in order to get to the Cup final

On the players that are dealing with minor fitness issues, he said, “Xavi is OK, Alexis is getting there and Busquets’ fitness is the most doubtful”



Josep Guardiola acknowledged that in the Cup everything is going according to plan: the team will play in the Camp Nou for a spot in the final, after managing a 1-1 draw in Mestalla, in front of a home crowd. “It’s a perfect situation, we’re close,” said the manager, he also dismissed injures as a possible excuse for a hypothetical exit from the competition. “We’ll play 11 vs 11, 7 men will be on the bench and we’re on form. This is a game of men, it’s vey demanding, we need people that are ready to play,” he said. On the match-ready players, he said: “the most doubtful player is Busquets, Xavi is OK and Alexis is getting there, even though he still has a little discomfort.”

“I honestly believe that we have to win”

After the one-all draw at Mestalla, Guardiola said that the result was good ahead of the return leg. Why? Because didn’t allow for a euphoric atmosphere that can sometimes come after a big away-leg victory -like what happened after the Bernabéu- and because it obligates the players to go for the win at the Camp Nou. Ahead of Wednesday’s match, Guardiola dismissed a possible 0-0 draw as a likely outcome: “only by winning are we going to get to the final.” He added: “I imagine that we’ll have to play a good game and we’ll have to score.”

Ball possession, key

When asked about Banega and his importance within the Valencia squad, Guardiola was clear: “Banega is a fantastic player. We’ll have to be plugged into the game to render Banega ineffective. If they are behind us, Bandega won’t be as big of an issue, if we’re behind them, Banage will be key.”

The manager, however, preferred to make a broader analysis of Valencia: “they are a team that have always given us a lot of problems ... similarly to Real Sociedad.”

During the press conference, Guardiola reiterated his message: “I know that we’ve won a lot of titles, but these players want to reach another final. The Cup final is one of the most beautiful ones.” For this reason, the match this Wednesday is key. It’s not everyday that you qualify for a final.