Copa del Rey 2021-22: Third round draw: as it happened

Update: Dec 17th, 2021 05:44 EST

Copa del Rey: 3rd round draw - live

That concludes our live feed of the Copa del Rey, third round draw.

Cheers for your company this morning and stay with AS for the latest reaction to the draw and for all the best in global sport.

Copa del Rey: 3rd round ties

...and that concludes the 16 ties that compose the third round of the 2021-22 Copa del Rey.

Ties will be played on 4,5 and 6 of January with the exact dates to be confirmed by the Spanish FA in the next 24 hours.

and last out is Ponferredina with the men from El Bierzo set to face Espanyol

Zaragoza will be at home to Sevilla FC

Last few ties now as Girona will take on Osasuna

Leganes from the Madrid outskirts will take on Real Sociedad

Fuenlabrada will be at home to Cadiz CF

SD Eibar will welcome Mallorca

Next out is Sporting Gijon and the Asturian men will take on Villarreal

Cartagena will face Valencia CF

Cup specialists CD Mirandes will take on Rayo Vallecano

Next out is, Almeria and the Andalusian men will face Elche

Real Valladolid and the side from Pucela will take on Betis

Now we'll see the 2A sides who face top flight teams

Atletico Baleares will face ....Celta Vigo

next tie sees: Linares Deportivo and the Andalusian side will take on FC Barcelona

next up is ....CD Alcoyano and they will face Real Madrid (as they did last season)

Next out from 1A RFEF is .... Rayo Majadaonda and the side from the Madrid suburbs will face ....Atletico Madrid

First up is At. Mancha Real from the fourth tier and the side from Jaen will face Athletic Club

We're all set as Saul Ramos runs us through the draw process and reminds us that the lower ranked sides will always play at home and will that, off we go...

Rayo Madahonda's sporting director will also assist and he runs us through the win over Malaga.

Each bowl represents a category:

Super Cup sides (4): Real Madrid, Athletic, Barcelona & Atlético Madrid

LaLiga Santander sides (12): Celta, Rayo, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Elche, Espanyol, Villarreal, Valencia, Betis, Mallorca, Osasuna, Cádiz

LaLiga Smartbank sides (11): Fuenlabrada, Girona, Zaragoza, Leganés, Sporting, Ponferradina, Valladolid, Cartagena, Eibar, Almería, Mirandés

Primera RFEF sides (4): Majadahonda, Alcoyano, Linares & Atlético Baleares.

Segunda RFEF (1): Mancha Real

1A RFEF side Linares Deportivo also dispatched Alaves from the cup on Tuesday and their sporting secretary joins the stage and he's assigned one of the five bowls on the staged packed with little coloured balls.

Atletico Baleares were another of the surprise packages last night as they put five past Getafe and their general secretary is our second guest this morning and he'll also assist with draw process.

At. La Mancha's keeper is the first guest this morning and he talks us briefly through the feeling of waking up having beaten Granada last night. He'll be on hand to draw some of the balls this morning.

I expect the event to last 25-30 minutes, UEFA and co have woke up to the fact that snappy, to-the-point draws are what fans want and despite the RFEF's positive steps, there is still a tendency to get 'live draw opinion'. Still, I don't envisage the surreal scenes we witnessed last Monday in Nyon with the Champions League draw.

RFEF's Saul Ramos is our MC this morning as he talks us through the sides who have progressed to the third round. A highlights clip of the key moments from the second round starts proceedings ahead of the draw.

We're moments away from joining the draw at the Sala Luis Aragones at the Spanish FA Las Rozas HQ.

With the draw just five minutes away, a reminder of the 32 sides who remain in the competition:

32 Copa del Rey participants

Super Cup sides (4): Real Madrid, Athletic, Barcelona & Atlético Madrid

LaLiga Santander sides (12): Celta, Rayo, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Elche, Espanyol, Villarreal, Valencia, Betis, Mallorca, Osasuna, Cádiz

LaLiga Smartbank sides (11): Fuenlabrada, Girona, Zaragoza, Leganés, Sporting, Ponferradina, Valladolid, Cartagena, Eibar, Almería, Mirandés

Primera RFEF sides (4): Majadahonda, Alcoyano, Linares & Atlético Baleares.

Segunda RFEF (1): Mancha Real

Five potential rivals for Real Madrid

One of Mancha Real, At. Baleares, CD Alcoyano, Linares Deportivo or Rayo Mahadahonda will face Real Madrid in the third round.

Copa del Rey dates

Dates for the remaining rounds of the Copa del Rey 2021-22

3rd round: 4, 5, 6 January (2022)

Round of 16: 15-16 January with the sides involved in the Spanish super Cup set to play on 19 January

Quarter-final: 2 February

Semi-final (first leg): 9 February

Semi-final (second leg): 2 March

Final: 23 April (Seville)

Betis need extra time to progress

Real Betis fielded a strong XI with Manuel Pellegrni eyeing up the Copa del Rey as a serious avenue in securing silverware but saw how lower league Talavera pushed the 'vediblanco's all the way last night with the game being decided by two late strikes from Diego Lainez and Sergio Canales.

Linares fans anxious to draw 'Los Blancos'

The common thread from Linares fans upon being asked what side would they like to face in the third round seems to be Carlo Ancelott's Real Madrid with one or two jokers requesting arch-rivals Real Jaen (who were not involved in the cup and are currently undergoing a serious financial crisis)

Copa shocks

Both Deportivo Alaves and Levante UD were the other top flight sides to be eliminated this week at the hands of lower league opposition with Linares Deportivo and CD Alcoyano their respective victors. These 1a RFEF sides will now be pitted against one of the four Super Cup sides in Real Madrid, Atleti, Barcelona or Athletic and it's worth remembering that Zidane's Madrid came a cropper last season in this round against the side from Alcoy.

When it comes to the Spanish Cup, the Catalan giants are very much the 'kings of the cup', having win the trophy on 31 occasions. Last season's beaten finalists Athletic have won the cup 23 times with Real Madrid completing the podium with their 19 Copa triumphs.

Copa del Rey, Messi's last silverware in a Barça shirt

FC Barcelona are the current cup holders and saw off Athletic Club at the Estadio de La Cartuja (Seville) last April. This was the last silverware Leo Messi won in a Barcelona shirt before he departed for PSG in August.

Copa del Rey: 3rd round match dates

The Copa del Rey 2021-22 third round games will be played on: January, 4,5 and 6th with the kick-off times to be confirmed within the next 24 hours by the RFEF (Spanish FA).

The team from the lower category will always be the home side in the draw.

At. Baleares stick five past top flight Getafe

Palma de Mallorca based Atlético Baleares also delivered another Copa shock as they put five past Quique Sanchez's Getafe in a historic night for the Balearic side.

Scenes of jubilation as Atlético Mancha Real advance

The side from Jaen are the only fourth tier side remaining in the competition as they dumped Granada out of the cup with a 1-0 win on Thursday night.

Draw mechanics

These are the conditions surrounding the draw:

-Mancha Real will be drawn at home against one of the four Super Cup teams (Madrid, Barça, Atleti or Athletic)

-Three of the four participating Primera RFEF sides will be drawn with the three remaining Super Cup sides

-The final Primera RFEF team will face opposition from the Primera División

-The 11 2A sides will be pitted against the remaining 11 Primera División clubs