Copa Del Rey Last 16 Draw

The draw for the last 16 of the Copa del Rey has been made, with the subsequent pairings ensuring the big two of Real Madrid and Barcelona can’t meet each other until the final. Real have been drawn against Levante whilst the two most decorated teams in the competition’s history – Barcelona (25 wins) and Athletic Bilbao (23) – came out of the hat together in what is without doubt the tie of the round. The clubs last met in the 2009 final when Barcelona won 4-1 in the Mestalla, Valencia.

The first legs are formally scheduled for December 21st, with the return fixtures pencilled in for January 4th of next year, and there are a couple of local derbies to get passions racing. Villarreal have been matched with great rivals Valencia whereas Manuel Pellegrini’s Málaga can look forward to a clash with holders Sevilla.

The two surviving second division clubs, Real Betis and Córdoba, will face Getafe and Deportivo respectively; the other two games are Almería v Mallorca and Atlético Madrid v Espanyol.

The final will be played on April 20, 2011.

The full draw is:-

1. Valencia – Villarreal
2. Barcelona – Athletic de Bilbao
3. Córdoba – Deportivo de la Coruña
4. Betis – Getafe
5. Almería – Mallorca
6. Sevilla – Málaga
7. Real Madrid- Levante
8. Atlético de Madrid – Espanyol

Quarter-finals:

Winners of match 5 v Winners of match 3 (A)
Winners of match 2 v Winners of match 4 (B)
Winners of match 7 v Winners of match 8 (C)
Winners of match 1 v Winners of match 6 (D)

First legs January 12th – Second legs January 19th.

Semi-finals:

Winners of match D v Winners of match C
Winners of match B v Winners of match A

First legs January 26th – Second legs February 2nd.