MADRID Espanyol aim to end city rivals Barcelona's 15-match unbeaten run in the most attractive tie of the first leg of the King's Cup quarterfinals today (2030 GMT).

The remaining quarterfinal first-leg ties are to be played on Wednesday.

Hosts Espanyol face their neighbors after a sparkling 5-0 league victory against Real Zaragoza at the weekend, which was even more surprising given last week's upheavals at the club.

They sold Captain Mauricio Pochettino to Paris St. Germain for a reported fee of $2.8 million after admitting they could not afford to pay the Argentine player's wages.

They also gave one of the other stalwarts of the team, Romania midfielder Constantin Galca, the go-ahead to look for another club.

"The fans have to understand the club has to improve its economic situation and one solution is to allow some of its players to leave," said Vice President Alfred Torras.

Ironically the news sparked the team into its best performance of the season as they proceeded to put five past injury-hit Zaragoza. Two former Barcelona players, brothers Oscar and Roger Garcia, both got on the scoresheet.

Coach Paco Flores wants to see his team maintain the form that has seen them rise to 11th place in a tightly-packed mid-table.

"We are going to give everything to get the best possible result in the first leg and it is clear that we are capable of creating problems for any team including Barcelona," he said.

(Reuter)