BARCELONA, Spain - A matchup worthy of the final will knock out Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Copa d

BARCELONA, Spain - A matchup worthy of the final will knock out Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Vans Old Skool Clearance .Barcelona hosts 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, arrives 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 is a difficult rival. We will have to play our best without making mistakes.Here are some things to know about this weeks quarterfinals:____WHAT CRISIS?: Barcelona appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown before it last faced Atletico on Jan. 11 following a loss at Real Sociedad, the firing of its sports director, and club president Josep Bartomeu calling for early elections.But since then it has 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.THE BOY IS BACK: Fernando Torres two goals to seal Atleticos elimination of Real proved that the 30-year-old striker, who once shone as Atleticos 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 teams chances against Barcelona.After Madrid and Barca, there is a third team in Atletico, and it has shown it can beat them, Torres said. We are an uncomfortable rival.V FOR VICTORY: Villarreal hosts 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 has risen into sixth place in the league and has reached the knockout rounds in the Europa League after not losing once in a 15-game span across all competitions.BRUISED BILBAO: With 23 cups, Athletic Bilbao trails only Barcelonas 26 as all-time winners in the competition.And Bilbao visits 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.SNEAKY SEVILLA: While Spains top teams get most of the attention, Sevilla is quietly having an excellent campaign and positioning itself to fight for silverware.Six points off the pace in the league with a game in hand against pacesetting Real, Sevilla is also opting to challenge for the cup as it visits Espanyol on Thursday. Vans Sk8-Hi Shoes For Sale .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph. Vans Old Skool Pink . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender may not possess the wow-inspiring theatrics of fellow prospect Morgan Rielly, but nonetheless has a chance to contribute with the Leafs when all is said and done this season. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale.html .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award.Daytona Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) -- NASCAR announced a radical change to its qualifying format for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series on Wednesday, making it similar to knockout qualifying used for Formula One and IndyCar Series road/street course races. At NASCAR racetracks measuring 1.25 miles or longer in length, qualifying will consist of three rounds. Tracks measuring less than 1.25 miles will feature just two segments. NASCAR noted its revised qualifying format will not be used for the Daytona 500 (Feb. 23) and the Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway (July 23), which is the only national touring series event contested on a dirt track. It also wont be used for the Sprint Cup non-point races -- the Feb. 15 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway and the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All- Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "Were looking forward to the new qualifying format for all three of our national series this year," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said during a teleconference. "The new format is something that weve been looking at for quite some time. The goal is providing a more fan- friendly and exciting qualifying session for each race event across the board, with the exception of the Daytona 500 and Eldora, which are unique in their own right. "NASCAR fans will be treated to highly competitive elimination-based qualifying segments that will be more engaging to the fans in the stands and those watching on television or online." For those races on tracks 1.25 miles or greater, the first qualifying elimination round will be 25 minutes in duration and includes all cars/trucks. Vans Shoes Outlet. The 24 entries that post the fastest single lap from the opening segment will advance to the second round. The remaining cars/trucks will be sorted from their times in descending order posted during the first segment. The 12 cars/trucks that recorded the quickest single lap during the second round, which is 10 minutes in length, will then advance to the third and final segment, which lasts five minutes. Positions 13 through 24 will be based on lap times during the second round. Positions 1 through 12 will be determined during the final round, with the driver posting the fastest lap winning the pole position. There will be a five-minute break between each of the three qualifying rounds. For those tracks shorter than 1.25 miles, the opening segment in qualifying will be 30 minutes in duration and includes all entries. The 12 cars/trucks that recorded the fastest single lap time will advance to the second segment. The remaining field will be determined by lap times in descending order during the first round. Positions 1 through 12 will then be decided in the final segment, which is 10 minutes in length. "We believe the timing is right for this new style of qualifying, and for our drivers and teams, we believe that it will create even better competition leading into the event," Pemberton said. NASCARs new format is scheduled to be used for the first time on Feb. 21 when the Nationwide and Truck Series have qualifying for their season-openers at Daytona. Sprint Cup will utilize the format beginning with the March 2 race at Phoenix International Raceway. ' ' '