Copa del Rey Tips: Sevilla tie ripe for clean sheet or two

Unai Emery again has Sevilla performing above expectations

Punting advice for the Villarreal v Getafe, Barcelona v Atletico Madrid and Espanyol v Sevilla Copa del Rey quarter-final first legs...

Villarreal v Getafe
Wednesday, 19:00
Live on Sky Sports 5

Match Odds: Villarreal 1.364/11, Getafe 11.5n/a, The Draw 5.59/2

Villarreal face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals if they get through but, for now, they have to be pretty happy about a pairing with struggling Getafe. The sixth-placed Yellow Submarine haven't lost to a club below them all season and have prevailed in every single one at El Madrigal.

Even more encouragingly, they have won their last five home games to nil, striking 13 times without reply. Getafe have taken out two La Liga rivals in the Copa del Rey - Eibar and Almeria - yet have toiled against the elite this term, netting in just one of six clashes with the division's top six.

Recommended Bet: Back Villarreal to win to nil @ 2.01/1

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid
Wednesday, 21:00
Live on Sky Sports 5

Match Odds: Barcelona 1.528/15, Atletico Madrid 7.613/2, The Draw 4.57/2

You used to be able to guarantee that goals would be at a premium when these sides collided, with their six meetings in 2013/14 delivering a mere seven goals in total, but the spell was broken by Barcelona's 3-1 triumph - their first win in that sequence - ten days before this latest showdown.

The stats point to both teams scoring again because Barcelona have fired only one blank in 41 home encounters since September 2013, notching a ridiculous 34 times in the seven Camp Nou outings since their aberration against Celta Vigo in early November.

Atletico Madrid have been shut out in just one of their past 13 road trips, most recently converting seven times across a brutal away triple header against Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Recommended Bet: Back both teams to score @ 2.0811/10

Espanyol v Sevilla
Thursday, 21:00
Live on Sky Sports 5

Match Odds: Espanyol 3.02/1, Sevilla 2.6413/8, The Draw 3.3512/5

It is tricky to call the outcome of this first leg: Sevilla's strong form has been sustained over a longer period, but Espanyol have won two in a row themselves and removed high-flying Valencia in the last round. However, one thing that you can be fairly confident of is there being at least one clean sheet.

Sevilla have conceded just once in their previous eight matches, a 90th-minute consolation in a 2-1 victory at Granada in the last round, while Espanyol silenced three of the last four visitors to their Power8 Stadium.

Recommended Bet: Back both teams to score? No @ 2.021/1