Coutinho hopes to avoid the curse of Barcelona's right wing LaLiga - Barcelona Can end the debate in that position

A surprise greeted the public minutes before the start of the second leg of Barcelona's Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia, with Andre Gomes picked to start on the right wing ahead of Philippe Coutinho.

For the umpteenth time, the Portugal international was offered an opportunity to impress by Ernesto Valverde and he failed to take advantage of it.

At half-time, Valverde acknowledged his error by replacing him with Coutinho, who took just five minutes to show how big an error it was to start Gomes by grabbing his first Barcelona goal.

The January signing collected a pass from Luis Suarez to score, coming in from the right wing, where he played on Thursday night and where he has also featured in previous games in which Andres Iniesta has been on the field at the same time.

When the captain is also on the pitch, Coutinho will play on the right, an area which has suffered from a revolving door of players in that position, ones who have never managed to make it their own.

That curse seems set to end with the Brazilian, who aims to do what six previous players have all failed to manage.

Ousmane Dembele

We will have to wait and see if he can take over the position when he returns from his second injury of the season.

At the moment, it is a complicated situation for him as Iniesta is a favourite of Valverde and Coutinho is feeling comfortable on the right flank.

He debuted on the right in the league against Espanyol and assisted a goal for Suarez, but his serious injury against Getafe and a second one against Celta Vigo have massively hindered his progress.

Gerard Deulofeu

The Azulgrana youth product had, from the beginning of the season, the massive task of trying to make the fans forget Neymar.

He started on the left, but was later moved to the right side and it did not work.

That wasn't due to a lack of opportunities, as Valverde insisted on playing him multiple times.

Yet his performances were not up to the expected standard and he exited in January to join Watford.

Aleix Vidal

He is another player who has had chances to establish himself on the right wing, but who, like the others, never managed to convince Valverde.

His performances were not as the coaching staff expected and he actively attempted to depart the club in January.

It didn't pan out and he ended up staying at the Camp Nou, where his options will be even more limited with the arrival of Coutinho and expected return of Dembele.

Andre Gomes

He has also had chances to nail down the position as Barcelona's right winger, but it seems Valverde is the only one he is impressing.

The coach continues to give opportunities to a player who day after day looks a shadow of the man who starred at Valencia.

He is now in his second season with the Catalan club and patience with him has been almost completely exhausted.

His half-time exit on Thursday was a clear sign that the club is simply too big for him.

Paulinho

The Brazilian has been one of the great revelations for both Barcelona and LaLiga in general this season.

He has impressed greatly in midfield, where his offensive nature has made him the side's third top scorer this season.

However, when he has played on the right, as he did against Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, his performances have dipped.

That is quite simply because the midfielder is not quick enough for that position and his dribbling skills are not as suited to such a role.

Paco Alcacer

The former Valencia man is a No. 9 and a pure centre forward, as he demonstrated during his time at the Mestalla.

But at Barcelona, with that role already being taken up by Luis Suarez, his position has been modified and this prevents him from real scoring chances.

Whether it is on the left or the right wing, he has never really convinced when not in his favoured position.