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Alaves, Celta to vie for king's Cup final berth

Xinhua, February 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

Alaves and Celta Vigo go head to head on Wednesday night for a place in the final of the King's Cup knockout tournament and the chance to take on either FC Barcelona or Atletico Madrid.

Neither of the pair has ever won the Cup, with Celta losing three finals; the last of which was in 2001, while Alaves have never reached the final, falling at the semi-final stage in 1998 and 2004.

The game in Alaves' Mendizorroza Stadiun goes ahead despite an attempt by Alaves to have it postponed. The club from the city of Vitoria argued that as Celta's game at home to Real Madrid, which was scheduled for Wednesday, had to be postponed because of damage caused to the ground by high winds, which meant Celta had been able to rest, while Alaves played on Sunday in Gijon.

The Spanish Football Federation rejected the claim, arguing, "that cannot serve as a base for postponing a Cup game." After Alaves' 4-2 win away to Sporting Gijon, defender Alexis commented that he had no problem to "get on with things."

Given that Alaves rested nine theoretical starters at the weekend, the fact Celta, who were planning to do the same, didn't play on Sunday should not have any real effect on what is a well-balanced return leg.

A week ago Alaves held on for a 0-0 draw in a rain-swept Balaidos and should be slight favorites to progress, however, the fact they failed to score means a scoring draw would put Celta through to their first final in 16 years on away goals.

Alaves will have a full house in Mendizorroza to cheer them on, but they will also be aware that although tough to beat they have only defeated Granada and Betis in front of their supporters in the Liga Santander this season.

Celta will look to soak up pressure and use the pace of forwards, Iago Aspas, Cedric Bongonda and Pablo Hernandez to hit them at pace, promising what promised to be a tight and tactical game, unlikely to be apt for those of a nervous disposition. Enditem