Real Madrid, Barça to face fourth-tier teams in Copa Del Rey

Real Madrid and Barcelona will both face fourth-tier opponents in the third round of the Copa del Rey after the draw on Tuesday, with Madrid traveling to Arandina CF and Barca to UD Barbastro.

The third round will see a first participation in this season's competition for the four teams involved in next month's Spanish Super Cup: Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Atlético Madrid and Osasuna.

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Atlético will travel to CD Lugo, while Osasuna will travel to CD Castellon.

The knockout matches will be played on January 6 and 7, 2024, with the winners advancing to the round of 16.

UD Barbastro and Arandina CF both play in the Segunda Federacion, the fourth tier of Spanish football.

Arandina is based in the town of Aranda de Duero, in Castile and Leon, while Barbastro is a town in the province of Huesca, in the north of the country.

Arandina qualified for the third round by beating First Division Cádiz 2-1 last week, while Barbastro eliminated struggling Almería 1-0.

Other third round matches include Malaga vs Real Sociedad, Unionistas de Salamanca vs Villarreal and Elche vs Girona.

Tenerife will face Las Palmas in a Canary Islands derby, while a Basque derby will see Eibar host Athletic Club.

Real Madrid are the Copa del Rey title holders after beating Osasuna 2-1 in the final in Seville on May 6, 2023 – the first time they have won the trophy in nine years – while Barca lifted the trophy in five of the last ten seasons.

Barça have won a record 31 Copa del Reys, with Athletic Club second in the all-time standings with 23 trophies, and Madrid third with 20.