The Copa Del Rey round of 32 fixtures have now been revealed officially. Segunda B side Cornella, who handed a shock defeat to La Liga side Atletico Madrid, has been drawn against Barcelona.
The two teams have never met before, though the Barcelona B team regularly faces them in Segunda B. The two teams are based very closely. Cornella’s Camp Municipal stadium is situated less than 10 miles away from Barcelona’s Camp Nou. So, this will make an interesting fixture for the neighbours.
Copa Del Rey fixtures:
- Cornellá v Barcelona
- UD Ibiza v Athletic Club
- CD Alcoyano v Real Madrid
- Córdoba v Real Sociedad
- SCR Peña Deportiva v Real Valladolid
- Navalcarnero v Eibar
- Malaga v Granada
- Almeria v Alavés
- Leganés v Sevilla
- Alcorcón v Valencia
- Girona v Cádiz
- Sporting Gijón v Real Betis
- Espanyol v Osasuna
- Fuenlabrada v Levante
- Rayo Vallecano v Elche
- Tenerife v Villarreal
Ronald Koeman will surely go into the fixture with a lot of caution as Cornella has been hailed as a giant killer this season after knocking out Atletico Madrid in the previous round. Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone was full of praise for the third-tier team.
Simeone said: “They competed well and they played the game they wanted to play, and then kept it like that. They had intensity and you really just have to congratulate them. When a rival outperforms you, you just have to congratulate them.”
In the other fixtures, Real Madrid will face Alcoyano, another third-tier team. After the defeat of Atletico Madrid, it is expected that record 30-time winners Barcelona along with Real Madrid are the favourites for this season’s Copa Del Rey trophy.
The 4 La Liga sides, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad will also compete in Supercopa de Espana between January 13-17 before playing their Copa Del Rey matches. All the Copa Del Rey round of 32 matches will be hosted by the lower-ranked sides. The matches will be played on January 16, 17, 20 or 21.
