It's part of the idiosyncratic beauty of Spanish football that lowly Alavés could effectively signal the end of Barcelona's golden-generation by robbing them of both La Liga and the Copa del Rey - but the little Basque club have no idea where they'll be playing the first ever Spanish Cup final in their history next May.
Alaves, from the posh Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz knocked out Celta on an emotional night of spectacular atmosphere on Wednesday to ensure it'll be they who face Barça in the Spanish showpiece on May 28.
Meaning they'll be the third team in successive seasons to try and prevent Luis Enrique winning the Copa.
Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla failed in 2015 and 2016 so now it's down to the team so superbly run by Mauricio 'El Flaco' Pellegrino.
But with one of those delicious twists which football's Machiavellian schedulers can throw up it's north to hostile Alaves that Barcelona must go tomorrow afternoon.
And Barcelona carry on their shoulders the threat that defeat would almost certainly ruin their bid to win a seventh league title in nine years.
The Spanish champions may be only one point behind Zinedine Zidane's world and European champions but Madrid have two games in hand.
Should Alaves put the mockers on Barcelona tomorrow it would leave Los Blancos able to go four points clear with six more available - away to Valencia and Celta admittedly.
Brilliantly positioned to show ruthlessness and win only their second title in nearly a decade.
If you are sneering at the prospect it's worth remembering that Pellegrino's shock-troops won promotion last season from the second division and immediately went to the Camp Nou and beat Barcelona 2-1.
They were superb that day, fit, confident, aggressive and worthy winners against a Barcelona side which, like in midweek against Atletico, looked ragged and short of order.


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