Barcelona and Real Madrid learn opponents in 2024/25 Copa del Rey third round draw

Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have both drawn fourth-tier sides in the third round of the 2024/25 Copa del Rey.

While by Hansi Flick The League Leaders face UD Barbastro for second season on the spin, Real Madrid have been paired with CD Minera. Both fixtures will take place on 3, 4 or 5 January 2025, although the final times and dates are yet to be finalized in the ever-changing Spanish football calendar.

Real Madrid’s tie could be further delayed due to complications from rescheduling their La Liga match with Valencia, which was postponed in October after severe flooding in the area.

Whenever the cup tie finally kicks off, it won’t be played at Minera’s simple venue, the Estadio Municipal Angel Celdran. Due to poor infrastructure, Carlo Ancelotti he will take his mighty Galacticos to Cartagonova, home of nearby Carthage.

Barcelona knows all about the Campo Municipal de Deportes Barbastro. While the region is famous for its delicious tomatoes, the Catalan giants will associate it with a narrow escape. A team led by Xavi Hernandez had to hold on 3-2 win in January 2024, they entered the fourth round as 6,000 spectators from a town of 16,000 rewarded their defeated hosts with a standing ovation.

Neither side can afford to overexercise as the congested fixture list allows for little respite. Barca and Real Madrid they are both in action in the Spanish Super Cup just days after their Copa del Rey encounters. While the capital club take on Mallorca on January 9, Barca face Copa del Rey champions Athletic Club a day earlier.

To add to the sense of congestion, both the games and the final scheduled for January 12 will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – more than 4,000 miles away from Spanish soil.

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