Copa del Rey 24/25: Round of 16 draw as it happened...fixtures, dates

So, we'll wrap up our coverage from the Copa del Rey draw here... 

A reminder that these games will be played next week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) with the precise kick-off times set to be confirmed by the Spanish FA later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Cheers for tuning in and catch you all soon!

Both Pontevedra and Almeria could deliver the shocks of this round with both Getafe and Leganes 'beatable' at home despite the difference in category.

Round of 16 fixtures

A reminder of the next dates for the 2024-25 Spanish Cup:

Round of 16: January 14,15 and 16

Quarters: February 4,5 and 6 

Semi-final first leg: February 26

Second leg of semi-finals: April 2

Final: April 26

When will the R16 games be played ?

The precise kick-off times and dates for next week's Round of 16 games will be made official by the Spanish FA, either late this evening or tomorrow morning once the respective rights holders are consulted.

This week's domestic games and their times will also play a role in determining who plays on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

So, home draws for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona who will need to be at their best to overcome Celta and Betis respectively. 

Final game is Athletic vs Osasuna.

second last game is ....

Real Sociedad who face Rayo Vallecano

next game is ....

FC Barcelona who welcome ....Real Betis

Next match-up sees....

Real Madrid who face ....Celta Vigo

Now we move onto the remaining top flight sides....

Real Madrid, Barça, Athletic, Real Sociedad still yet to appear....

Elche are the next team out and they will play Atletico Madrid.

We now move to the 2A division with Almeria and Elche awaiting their R16 rivals.

First team up is .... Almeria ... they will play Leganes

A tricky test for the side from Mestalla and if the Galicians can perform as they did in the second half against Valladolid.... it will be far from easy for Corberan's side.

Do not bet against Pontevedra getting a result against the side from Madrid....

next out is ... Ourense CF and they face Valencia.

Ok, we have our three draw assistants, we have the four bowls... we're all set.... 

First out will be Pontevedra CF .... the Galician side will face ....Getafe.

Final draw assistant is David Cobeño, former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper and now sporting director at Vallecas.

Rayo made it to the semi-final in 2022 and fell to Real Betis.

Next draw assistant is Francisco Rodriguez (former Almeria and Rayo head coach).

Elche now as keeper Miguel San Roman is on hand to offer his view on the win over Las Palmas on Sunday.

Las Palmas have been a side reinvigorated under new coach Diego Martinez and were totally outclassed by second tier outfit.

Gonzalo Melero (Almeria) now reflects on the win over Sevilla and how the side are performing reminding us that: 'there is still a long way to go in the season'.

He adds that they 'fear no-one' in the next round and has no preference as to what the draw throws up but would prefer to avoid the 'big teams'.

The focus now turns to Elche and Almeria with both second tier sides putting four goals past Las Palmas and Sevilla FC respectively at the weekend.

Our first draw assistant is presented today as Dani Portela (Ourense) will be on hand to draw the balls. 

He claims that the team are still 'in the clouds' after the win at O Couto.

The Ourense players are all gathered in their media room as Alex Fidalgo also reflects on how the team enjoyed Sunday's win over struggling Real Valladolid.

Madrid, Barça or local side Celta are the three preferred sides for Fidalgo.

Alex Gonzalez joins us from the Pontevedra CF press room and reflects on how Friday's win... let's not forget, they beat Mallorca 3-0... this was no last minute fluke and against a side who are pressing for a European place in LaLiga.

Upon being pressed on what rival he would like, the player deflects the question as the focus moves to Ourense. 

Now the spotlight falls on Pontevedra... The Galicians have seen off ...Levante, Villarreal and Mallorca on their way to a place in today's draw.

No mean feat for a side who play in the fourth tier of the Spanish football pyramid. 

Israel Garcia is on hand for a quick video chat. The UD Barbastro player proposed to his fiancee after the home defeat at the hands of FC Barcelona. 

His gesture became one of the most viral images over the weekend generating more than 3 million views across Spanish FA networks. 

First task is a recap of the highlights from last weekend's third round.

We-re live at the Spanish FA in Madrid as our MC and host Diego Miguel Fernandez (replacing the regular Saul Berjon) welcomes the assembled guests at the Sala Luis Aragones.

Osasuna looking to return to Seville

The men from Pamplona made it to the 2023 final but were beaten by Real Madrid. This time around the Rojillios are looking at going one step further and bag La Copa.

VAR to be used from 1/4 finals onwards

VAR will now be used in the remaining rounds of the competition.

Earlier rounds have used the 'old school' format of officiating with a referee, two assistants and a fourth official.

Video technology will be used at all eight grounds next week with both Ourense and Pontevedra needing to have the relevant equipment installed.

Less than ten to go !!!!

We're looming towards draw time ....

Is the Copa played over one or two legs ?

Gone are the days when the Copa del Rey games were played over two rounds leaving the chances of the smaller sides to pull off shocks and surprises to a minimum. 

All games up to the quarter-final stage are now played as single leg ties with the lower ranked team always staging the match.

The semi-finals are, however stages on a double legged basis with a home and away format.

Rayo tuning into the Copa draw

After despatching the likes of Villamuriel, Unionistas and Racing Ferrol in the earlier rounds, Rayo Vallecano fans who genuinely believe their side can progress to the latter stages will be anxious to discover their third round pairing.

Luck certainly plays a major role in securing what are deemed to be 'favourable draws' at this stage.

When exactly will the R16 games be played?

The precise kick-off times and dates for next week's Round of 16 games will be made official by the Spanish FA, either late this evening or tomorrow morning once the respective rights holders are consulted.

This week's domestic games and their times will also play a role in determining who plays on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

Key Copa del Rey dates: reminder

A reminder of the next dates for the 2024-25 Spanish Cup:

Round of 16: January 14,15 and 16

Quarters: February 4,5 and 6 

Semi-final first leg: February 26

Second leg of semi-finals: April 2

Final: April 26

We're just 25 minutes or so away from the draw which will be staged at the Luis Aragones function room at the Spanish FA headquarters in Las Rozas (Madrid).

There will be the usual preamble and thoughts on the draw from representatives of the clubs involved but I anticipate the whole procedure to take approximately 30 minutes or so.

Both the Spanish FA and indeed UEFA have learned how to streamline their draw processes recently with not too much in the 'excess baggage' department.

Madrid fans want Barça R16 meeting

Madrid fans responding to this post on the club's X/Twitter account claim they fear no-one with many hoping to draw Barcelona in the next round.

Three Super Copa sides remain in the draw

Real Mallorca are the only team from the quartet of sides in Jeddah ahead of the 2025 Spanish Super Cup which commences this evening.

Players and backroom staff of Athletic Club, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will be glued to the draw action as the balls are drawn from the bowls at the Spanish FA with a 'Clasico' or even a Madrid derby all potential Round of 16 match-ups today.

Copa de Rey shocks ...to date

Espanyol, Villarreal, Girona, Alavés, Mallorca, Sevilla, Las Palmas and Real Valladolid are all the top flight sides to have come a cropper in the early rounds of the competition.

Which are the next LaLiga EA Sports sides set to stumble at the hands of lower league opposition in the next phase.

No-one will relish a visit to Pontevedra.

Watch out for Almeria !

Sitting on top of the second division table and one of the in-form teams, no top flight side will relish the trip to the Andalusian city with Rubi's men dismantling Sevilla on Saturday with little difficulty, despite going one goal behind.

The 4-1 win was very much one of the shock results in the third round.

FC Barça remain 'kings of la Copa'

Seven of the remaining teams involved in the competition are previous Copa del Rey winners with Barcelona leading the way in terms of overall wins with 31.

FC Barcelona (31 títles)

Athletic Club (24)

Real Madrid (20)

Atlético Madrid (10)

Valencia (8)

Betis (3)

Real Sociedad (3)

Ourense looking for 'el gordo'

A page taken from the regional Ourense newspaper 'La Region' as they claim that a game for their local side against Real Madrid or Barça is like winning the lottery.

Osasuna, Leganes, Rayo and Getafe are seen as the least desirable of the Round of 16 opponents. 

Today's draw will see...

Pontevedra pitted against a First Division team.

Ourense CF drawn against a First Division team.

Elche & Almeria set to face two First Division teams.

Six First Division teams meeting one another

Copa del Rey: Third round results

Both Galician lower league sides from Pontevedra and Ourense made the headlines over the weekend as they both delivered embarrassing eliminations for Mallorca and Valladolid respectively.

Elche destroyed an in-form Las Palmas side and Almeria came from behind to despatch Sevilla much to the annoyance of the supporters who took their players to task post game.

Deportiva Minera 0-5 Real Madrid 
Eldense 0-2 Valencia 
Ponferradina 0-2 Real Sociedad
Racing 2-3 Celta

Cartagena 1-2 Leganés
Ourense CF 3-2 Valladolid
Elche 4-0 Las Palmas
Marbella 0-1 Atlético Madrid
Racing de Ferrol 1-3 Rayo

Granada 0-1 Getafe
Pontevedra 3-0 Mallorca
Huesca 0-1 Betis 
Tenerife 1-2 Osasuna

Almeria 4-1 Sevilla
Barbastro 0-4 Barça
UD Logroñés 0-0 (pens 3-4) Athletic

All roads lead to Seville

Once again, as part of the ongoing agreement between the Spanish FA and the regional government of Andalucia, Seville's La Cartuja stadium will host the Copa del Rey final with the showpiece match scheduled for 26 April.

Athletic Club are the reigning champions beating Real Mallorca in the 2024 final.

Excitement building in Pontevedra

The Galician fourth tier side are very much the 'giant-killers' when it comes to the 24-25 Copa del Rey having beaten both former Europa League winners Villarreal in the second round before beating last season's finalists Real Mallorca last Friday in the third round. 

Copa del Rey

A Clásico or Madrid derby...all the potential matchups ahead of Copa del Rey, Round of 16 draw

Draw format

The draw is conditioned in so far as the four teams from the lower ranked categories will be draw against a top flight side and play the tie at home.

Pontevedra will be the first side drawn, followed by Ourense. 

Both 2A teams (Almeria and Elche) will also face LaLiga sides with four ties to be an all 1a affair. 

Venue for today's draw

Today's Copa del Rey draw will take place at the Salon de Actos Luis Aragones at the headquarters of the Spanish FA in Las Rozas with proceedings commencing at 1pm (local time) / 7am (ET). 

Key Copa del Rey dates

Round of 16: January 14,15 and 16

Quarters: February 4,5 and 6 

Semi-final first leg: February 26

Second leg of semi-finals: April 2

Final: April 26

The 16 teams in today's draw

Pot A (12 x LaLiga EA Sports teams): Real Madrid, Barcelona, Betis, Rayo, Leganés, Celta, Atlético, Osasuna, Getafe, Athletic, Real Sociedad & Valencia.

Pot B (2 x LaLiga Hypermotion teams): Elche & Almería

Pot C (1A RFEF): Ourense CF

Pot D (2A RFEF): Pontevedra

Hello, belated New Year greetings and welcome to our live coverage of the Round of 16 draw for the 2024-25 Copa de Rey as the sixteen left in the competition are set to discover their opponents for the next round.