MADRID, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The first leg ties of the two semifinals of Spain's Copa Del Rey knockout competition will be played on Wednesday and Thursday night.
Wednesday will see Leganes, the conquerors of Real Madrid, entertain Sevilla in the first game. Reigning cup holders, FC Barcelona play Valencia in the Camp Nou on Thursday.
Leganes' Butarque Stadium will be packed for the club's first ever semi-final appearance against a Sevilla team that knocked Atletico Madrid out of the tournament in the last round and that has gained confidence under new coach Vincenzo Montella.
Sevilla will travel as favorites to make their second final appearance in three years, but will have to take care against a confident opponent in Leganes, who will still be riding high despite the absence of Mauro Dos Santos, Ruben Perez and Alexander Szymanowski.
In other tie, Barcelona will bring Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto into their starting 11 after the trio came off the bench in Sunday's 2-1 win at home to Alaves.
Barça coach Ernesto Valverde still has to work out the best position for new arrival Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian looked slightly out of place on the right side of midfield at the weekend. This could mean that Andres Iniesta will drop to the bench.
The cup is Valencia's only realistic chance of silverware this season, although they will be without winger Goncalo Guedes who is out with a calf injury. Central defenders Jeison Murillo and Gabriel Paulista are both out injured, meaning Ruben Vezo is likely to play alongside Ezequiel Garay in central defense.
The two sides drew 1-1 in Valencia's Mestalla Stadium in their La Liga meeting earlier in the campaign, with Barça needing a late Alba goal to seal a point. Thursday is likely to see another hard-fought game.
