Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao will be looking for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey when they face each other Wednesday.
A defensive Bilbao held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Camp Nou, but goals are expected for the return with Lionel Messi and David Villa, who have combined to score 28 league goals, up against Fernando Llorente.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says "we are playing for everything in the worst possible scenario."
Also, Villarreal hosts Valencia in a regional derby on Thursday after a 0-0 draw at Mestalla Stadium in the first leg.
With Llorente unavailable for the first game with a leg injury, Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros deployed six midfielders and focused on stifling the Barca attack. While that strategy succeeded in ending the Catalans' scoring run of 22 matches, it will not be an option this time with Bilbao in need of a goal to move on.
Llorente's strike partner Gaizka Toquero said his team must "go out to score a goal, but without losing its composure" and hoped that the game will not turn into a repeat of the 2009 final when Toquero scored the opener but Barcelona rallied to win 4-1 and lift its record 25th trophy.
"We have to go out with a lot of intensity, with a lot of pressure, and hope they don't have their day," the forward said.
Messi and Villa will most likely come into the starting 11 after coming off the bench in the first leg against the Basques. Barcelona's most inform player, however, is forward Pedro Rodriguez, who scored a brace against Levante on Sunday to make it eight goals in the last eight league fixtures.
Captain Carles Puyol will be available for Guardiola after missing a game with a leg injury, and Barcelona's winter signing Ibrahim Afellay is included in the squad for the first time.
Guardiola said his team will come out looking to score.
"I don't know what Athletic we will find, but I am sure they will press forward more than in Camp Nou," the Catalan manager said.
Also on Wednesday, Malaga will try to overcome Sevilla's 5-3 lead from the first leg at La Rosaleda stadium, and Deportivo La Coruna hosts second-division Cordoba with Miguel Angel Lotina's team holding a slim away-goal advantage after a 1-1 draw in Andalusia.
Third-place Villarreal and fourth-place Valencia have drawn twice this season in a pair of physical encounters and both enter in good form.
Villarreal has won 13 of its 14 home games this season in all competitions, with Valencia being the only team to steal a point after a 1-1 draw in league play in November. Since then, Juan Carlos Garrido's team has won five straight in La Liga.
"Valencia makes it tough for us by putting a lot of players behind the ball," Villarreal playmaker Santiago Cazorla said. "I am sure the game will be close and will be decided in the details."
Valencia is five points behind Villarreal in the Spanish standings and has won its last two league matches with goals in the dying moments.
"The game against Villarreal is fundamental," Valencia striker Roberto Soldado said. "It is a game that both teams want to win because in addition to being a knockout for the Copa it is also a derby."
In Thursday's late game, Real Madrid visits Levante with its progress all but confirmed after it thrashed the Valencia side 8-0 at Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Earlier, Espanyol hosts Atletico Madrid looking to overturn the visitors' 1-0 advantage.
Espanyol has lost three straight games, but has only been beaten once at El Prat-Cornella stadium this season.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will probably not have striker Pablo Osvaldo available after he hurt his knee over the weekend.
Atletico enters off a scoreless draw in league and with doubts if Diego Forlan will play after missing the last match with an ankle injury.
Also, Getafe hosts second-division leader Betis with a 2-1 lead from the first leg, and Mallorca faces Almeria after losing the away leg 4-3.
