Barcelona and Real Madrid will directly enter the third round of the Copa del Rey as two of the four teams participating in this year’s Spanish Super Cup.
Both clubs will face fourth-tier teams in the opening round of their Copa del Rey campaigns. Barcelona, currently leading La Liga, will play against UD Barbastro, while defending champions Real Madrid will face Deportivo Minera.
The draw for the third round of Spain’s second-tier competition took place on Monday.
Barbastro caused an upset last Thursday by defeating top-tier team Espanyol 2-0 in the second round. This will be the second consecutive year Barcelona faces Barbastro in the third round, having lost to them 3-2 last season. Barcelona’s goals that day came from Fermín López, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski.
Meanwhile, Minera also faced a La Liga side in the previous round, eliminating Alavés via a penalty shootout to reach the final 32. They will now play against Spain’s most successful club at their modest 2,000-seat home stadium.
The four teams participating in next month’s Spanish Super Cup—Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Mallorca—will all begin their Copa del Rey campaigns in the third round.
Bilbao won last year’s Copa del Rey after defeating Mallorca in a penalty shootout in the final.
