MADRID, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Supercup winner FC Barcelona is in Copa del Rey action on Wednesday night when entertains Betis in Montjuic in the fourth round of the knockout tournament.
Hansi Flick's team had barely three days to prepare for the game after the 5-2 destruction of Real Madrid in the Supercup final in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, after which it flew directly back to Spain.
Flick will be without central defender Inigo Martinez, who will miss the next six weeks after tearing a hamstring in Sunday's final, with either Ronald Araujo or Eric Garcia to replace him in defense.
Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres could also start as Flick looks to freshen up his side after the efforts in Jeddah.
The injury to Martinez looks as if it could put the breaks on any move for Araujo this January, with Juventus rumored to be willing to make a big offer for the Uruguayan, but with Martinez sidelined, Barcelona can't afford to lose another experienced defender.
Betis has had since last Friday to recover from league defeat to Valladolid and has been highly inconsistent so far this season, the big question is whether Barca's hectic schedule with four matches and two long flights in 12 days, will start to take a toll.
La Liga leader, Atletico Madrid travels to face second division high-flyers Elche, who has won four of the last five matches in the league, while also thrashing Las Palmas 4-0 in the last round of the cup.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone is likely to make some squad rotations, but with the Copa del Rey very much on his side's agenda this season, expects players such as Conor Gallagher and Alexander Sorloth to start.
Wednesday also sees second division leader Almeria looking to add another top-flight scalp after a 4-1 win at home to Sevilla in the last round when it entertains Leganes.
Finally, RFEF II (fourth division) Pontevedra aims to follow up wins over Villarreal and Mallorca in the previous rounds by adding Getafe to its list of top-flight conquests.
Pontevedra beat Villarreal 1-0, before putting three goals past Mallorca and will think it has an excellent chance of making the quarterfinals. ■
