Having done brilliantly to eliminate La Liga sides Villarreal, Racing Santander and Espanyol, minnows Mirandes could be forgiven for feeling optimistic before the Copa del Rey first leg clash against Athletic Bilbao. However, los Leones are one of just a handful of La Liga sides that have taken this competition very seriously and having come this far, the Basques will give their best to qualify for their second final in four years.

Giant slayers

Teams like Mirandes are keeping the romance of the Copa del Rey alive and their recent results goes to show that even lower division sides can reach the final stages of the competition in they just put their mind into it. The semi-professional club from the Province of Burgos returned to Segunda B, Spanish third division in 2008/09 and they are now on the road to gain promotion to Segunda. The team are six points clear of second-placed Ponferradina, although they will enter the play-offs even if they finish the league campaign in the first place. However, it is team’s Copa del Rey run that brought them wide recognition, with aggregate wins over Villarreal, Racing Santander and Espanyol earning them a chance to fight for the place in the final. Having done so much this season, Mirandes obviously shouldn’t be written off, but I have a feeling that in-form Athletic Bilbao will prove too much for them. The main reason why the minnows have come so far is that all their La Liga opponents underestimated them, and I cannot see the same happening with Athletic, the team that are well known for their battling spirit and the ability to face every single game as if it were a Cup final.

Coach Juan Carlos Pouso is expected to field the same side that earned a 2:1 win over Espanyol a week ago.

Athletic have yet to concede a goal in this year’s Copa del Rey

Unlike other La Liga sides that would usually field under strength line-ups in Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao would always take the competition very seriously, mostly because their proud history and past successes in Copa del Rey. This year was no different, even if many pundits were surprised to see Marcelo Bielsa field full strength line-ups in Copa del Rey in spite of the fact that Athletic were also playing in La Liga and Europa League. Such a valiant approach not only allowed to eliminate Real Oviedo, Albacete and Mallorca from the competition, but also saw los Leones win five of the six games in Copa del Rey, keeping a clean sheet in every one of those games. This clearly goes to show that Athletic take their Cup games very seriously, so I think we can safely rule out a possibility of los Leones underestimating lowly Mirandes. Taking also into account team’s recent form, I just cannot look past Athletic in this one.

Javi Martinez is expected to return to the side after recovering from injury, whereas Iker Muniain, Ander Herrera and Oscar de Marcos should also return to the starting line-up.

Verdict

Mirandes have got to be congratulated for what they have achieved so far, but I seriously doubt they can stop high-flying Athletic from winning this game. With four important players back to the side, los Leones should be able to record a comfortable victory.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 1.91 (10/11)

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes