By: AP & Reuters

A matchup worthy of the final will knock out Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona host Atletico on Wednesday in the opening leg, less than two weeks after they met in the league at Camp Nou, where Lionel Messi ended a scoring drought that lasted through six winless meetings with Atletico by scoring once and setting up fellow forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez for a 3-1 victory.

Atletico, however, arrive on firm footing after eliminating cup holder and crosstown rival Real Madrid in the round of 16. “It will be an intense and tough tie,” Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta says. “Atletico are a difficult rival. We will have to play our best without making mistakes.”

Barcelona appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown before they last faced Atletico on January 11 following a loss at Real Sociedad, the firing of the sports director, and club president Josep Bartomeu calling for early elections. But since then they have roared to four straight lopsided wins by the combined score of 16-1.

Messi has been his usual amazing self, with five goals in that span, despite sitting out one match, including his 30th career hat-trick for Barcelona at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.

Fernando Torres’ two goals to seal Atletico’s elimination of Real proved that the 30-year-old striker, who once shone as Atletico’s brightest rising talent, can make a strong contribution in his second stint at his boyhood club. With his ability to work well in open space, Torres gives coach Diego Simeone a third option in attack to combine with the bigger Mario Mandzukic and the quicker Antoine Griezmann.

Torres likes his team’s chances against Barcelona. “After Madrid and Barca, there is a third team in Atletico, and they have shown they can beat them,” Torres said. “We are an uncomfortable rival.”

Villarreal host Getafe also on Wednesday, with the winner meeting either Barcelona or Atletico in the semifinals. Manager Marcelino Garcia has Villarreal playing both the most vibrant and the most consistent football in Spain.

Villarreal have risen into sixth place in the league and have reached the knockout rounds in the Europa League after not losing once in a 15-game span across all competitions.

With 23 cups, Athletic Bilbao trail only Barcelona’s 26 as all-time winners in the competition. And Bilbao visit Malaga on Wednesday needing another strong performance in the cup with pressure increasing on coach Ernesto Valverde after the Basque side lost four of their last five matches.

While Spain’s top teams get most of the attention, Sevilla are quietly having an excellent campaign and positioning themselves to fight for silverware. Six points off the pace in the league with a game in hand against pacesetting Real, Sevilla are also opting to challenge for the cup as they visit Espanyol on Thursday.

Memories of ‘97

Barcelona have sought inspiration from one of their greatest King’s Cup nights as they prepare for their quarter-final. The La Liga rivals met in a last eight, second leg in Spain’s domestic Cup competition on March 12, 1997 after drawing 2-2 in the first leg at Atletico’s Calderon stadium. The return at the Nou Camp, with the late Bobby Robson in charge of Barca and current coach Luis Enrique in the side, started abysmally for the home side, with Atletico opening a 3-0 halftime lead thanks to a Milinko Pantic hat-trick.

With Barca 5-2 down on aggregate, Robson brought on Hristo Stoichkov and Juan Antonio Pizzi at the break and the team began the fightback with two goals from Ronaldo. Pantic struck again to make it 4-2 on the night but another Ronaldo strike and a stunning Luis Figo volley tied the score at 4-4 and Barca completed a remarkable turnaround when Pizzi’s late winner sealed a 7-6 aggregate success.

Barca posted highlights of the game, played in an electric atmosphere at Barca’s giant arena, on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es) on Tuesday under the headline “A 5-4 for the history books”.

Barca captain Xavi should be available after shaking off a calf injury but defender Jeremy Mathieu, who has an Achilles problem, is out, Luis Enrique told reporters. Barca, the record winners with 26 Cups, last triumphed in 2012, while Atletico, who lost 3-1 at the Nou Camp in La Liga this month, won most recently in 2013 for their 10th success.