King’s Cup Round of 16 Pairings Defined
The draw for the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey has produced exciting matchups for the main clubs of Spanish football. The matches will be played in a single match on January 13, 14 and 15, promising an elimination phase full of intensity.
Barcelona will face Racing de Santander at El Sardinero, while Real Madrid will visit Albacete. Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid will play at Riazor against Deportivo de La Coruña.
The participation of several teams in the Spanish Super Cup has conditioned the pairings, matching these clubs with rivals from lower categories. In this context, Athletic Club will face Cultural Leonesa and Valencia will face Burgos, both teams from the Second Division.
Among the team clashes in LaLiga EA Sports, the draw determined the Betis-Elche, Real Sociedad-Osasuna and Alavés-Rayo Vallecano matches, with the first mentioned team playing at home.
The match between Racing and Barcelona stands out as one of the most attractive of the round. The Cantabrian team, leader of LaLiga Hypermotion, already eliminated Villarreal in the previous phase and will seek to surprise the current League and Cup champion, who arrives with a winning streak.
Real Madrid will visit the Carlos Belmonte stadium, with the favorable precedent of never having lost against Albacete in their historical matches. Atletico de Madrid, for its part, will face Deportivo, with a positive history in the competition, without ever having fallen against the Galician team.
Athletic and Valencia will also have to be cautious against Second Division rivals. Cultural Leonesa comes from eliminating Levante, while Burgos left Getafe out in the previous round, which demonstrates the danger of these qualifiers.
The round is completed with balanced matches, such as Real Sociedad-Osasuna and Alavés-Rayo Vallecano, the latter reflecting the fight for permanence in LaLiga.Round of 16 Matches:
Deportivo de La Coruña – Atlético de Madrid
