Real Madrid: why Los Blancos weren't in Monday's Copa del Rey draw
Real Madrid are one of four Primera División teams who weren't involved in Monday's draw for the first round of the 2020/21 Copa del Rey.
The draw for the first round of the 2020/21 Copa del Rey took place on Monday lunchtime, with Primera División sides among the total of 112 clubs in the hat.
However, Real Madrid are one of four top-flight teams who did not feature in the draw, which was held at Seville’s Estadio La Cartuja, the venue for April’s final.
Spanish Super Cup teams given bye to Copa del Rey third round
That’s because Los Blancos have been given a bye to the third round of the Copa after qualifying for January's Spanish Super Cup as winners of LaLiga last season.
Also not involved in the first two rounds of the Copa are Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, who complete the line-up for the four-team Super Cup.
Barça booked their Super Cup spot as LaLiga runners-up last term, while Athletic and La Real feature in the competition after reaching the 2019/20 Copa final - a fixture which has not yet been played as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Madrid are the Super Cup holders, having won the first edition of the revamped tournament in Saudi Arabia in January 2020, defeating Atlético Madrid in the final.
This season's Super Cup, which is again due to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, is set to take place between 13 and 16 January 2021.
See also:
Super Cup foursome enter Copa on 20 January
Madrid, Barça, Athletic and La Real will enter the 2020/21 Copa at the last-32 stage on 20 January, playing their ties four days later than the rest of the competition because of their involvement in the Super Cup.
Apart from the two-legged semi-finals, every round of the Copa is now played in single-game format.
2020/21 Copa del Rey schedule
| Round | Date |
| First round | 16 December 2020 |
| Second round | 6 January 2021 |
| Last 32 | 16 January 2021* |
| Last 16 | 27 January 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | 3 February 2021 |
| Semi-finals (first leg) | 10 February 2021 |
| Semi-finals (second leg) | 3 March 2021 |
| FINAL | 17 April 2021 |
The four Spanish Super Cup teams (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad) will play their last-32 ties on 20 January 2021.
Super Cup teams to play LaLiga matches during Copa first round
Amid a particularly packed fixture schedule this season due to the pandemic, LaLiga has made the most of the Super Cup quartet’s initial absence from the Copa by scheduling their week-19 league games, which would otherwise clash with their last-32 ties on 20 January, to coincide with the first round of the cup on 16 December.
Real Madrid will therefore be hosting Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga while the Copa first round is taking place, with Real Sociedad visiting Barça.
The Super Cup foursome do not currently have any fixtures in place during the Copa second round on 6 January.