Copa del Rey return legs with only slight chance of an upset in Spain

MADRID, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday sees the start of three days of action in the King's Cup knockout competition in Spain in which sides from Spain's second and third tiers will try and cause an upset.

In reality, there is little chance of a major surprise involving Real Madrid and Barcelona, who take a 2-0 lead over Fuenlabrada and a 3-0 advantage over Murcia into their respective home legs.

Indeed Real Madrid's B-team played Fuenlabrada in the Segunda B division at the weekend, drawing 0-0.

Atletico Madrid are in slightly more danger of an upset after only drawing their first leg 1-1 away to Elche, the same result as the tie between Athletic Club Bilbao and Formentera, but with home advantage both top flight sides should progress with few scares.

Espanyol's 0-0 at home to second division Tenerife leaves them more exposed to the threat of an away goal which could complicate matters, while Valencia should be comfortable with a 2-0 cushion at home to Zaragoza, as with Betis, who have a 2-1 advantage over Cadiz.

Two sides have more work to do and Villarreal have to come back from 1-0 down at home to Ponferradina on Thursday, while Malaga have to overturn a 2-1 disadvantage against Numancia.

The club coached by Michel Gonzalez has made an effort to get the fans into the La Rosaleda Stadium by offering 25,000 free tickets for the game.

Elsewhere there are ties between top flight clubs as Alaves, who on Monday sacked their second coach of the campaign, defend a 1-0 lead against Getafe, while Levante are favorites against Girona and Celta will expect to capitalize on a 2-1 first leg win in Eibar.

In general, most teams will use the games to give a runout to fringe players and those struggling in the wrong half of the table, will be just as happy to avoid injuries as they will be to progress into the last 16. Enditem