Copa del Rey 2022/23 semi-final draw: as it happened

We'll bring our coverage to an end and thank you for joining us.

We'll be back on the cup draw trail again this evening as the FA Cup Fifth round games will be made known so feel free to join us for that.

El Clasico Spring trilogy

Copa del Rey: semi-final (first leg): 28 Feb/1/2 March - Santiago Bernabeu

LaLiga: matchday 26: 19 March - Camp Nou

Copa del Rey: semi-final (second leg): 4/5/6 April - Camp Nou

Barcelona braced for run of three El Clasicos

Apart from the Copa del Rey games that will be staged at the beginning of March with the return leg at Camp Nou in early April, there is also the small matter of the LaLiga 19 March game as part of a El Clascio Spring trilogy.

Osasuna-Athletic

The underdog against a Copa icon. Both teams dream of winning the title at La Cartuja, but also know that a ticket to the final also secures a place in the 2024 edition of the Super Cup.

Both teams went head-to-head at the beginning of January in San Mamés in a league game that ended 0-0.

Real Madrid-Barça

The two giants of Spanish soccer will meet in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey.

Both sides have faced each other on 35 occasions in the cup with the Catalan side having the edge with 15 wins. Madrid have racked up 12 wins with eight draws. Both sides have already met twice this season: Real Madrid won 3-1 at the Bernabéu in the first game in LaLiga but  in mid-January, Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup beating Los Blancos 1-3.

As things stand in the domestic table, Xavi's men are five points ahead of Ancelotti's side men with the next LaLiga El Clasico scheduled for March 19.

Copa del Rey dates:

The Spanish FA conclude their coverage confirming the provisional Copa del Rey dates:

Osasuna-Athletic: First leg: 7/9 February, with the return leg due to be held on 1/3 March.

Madrid-Barcelona: First leg to be staged on 28 February/1/2 March and return leg on either 4/5/ or 6 April.

which means Madrid will face FC Barcelona

so... Osasuna will play Athletic Club

and the other home team will be .... Real Madrid

First team out is .... Osasuna

Our MC today reminds us that the dates for the semi-final will be dictated by the ties...

The first two balls out will be the home teams ....not a direct tie .... important !

So....draw time....here we go

Carvajal reminds of his 2014 Copa del Rey win, his first title as a Real Madrid player.

New Spain boss Luis de la Fuente joins us and will be the man to select the balls for the draw. 

We're being treated to a repeat of the Rodrygo goal from Thursday's cup quarter-final clash vs. Atletico Madrid as Dani Carvajal joins us from Valdebebas to give his views ahead of the semi-final draw,

Last season's semi-final games saw Real Betis beat Rayo Vallecano and Valencia edged out Athletic.

The side from Seville went on to claim the trophy in a dramatic penalty shoot-out after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of action.

Two legged ties in semi-final

We've had single ties in the Copa del Rey all the way through to this stage and now we move to a home/away basis with games being played over 180 minutes to determine who advances to the final.

Barça are on track to win a quadruple this season and will be looking to add to their Super Cup win with the Copa del Rey, LaLiga and the Europa League all in sight for the Camp Nou side.

Xavi's men currently hold a five point lead at the top of the LaLiga table.

FC Barcelona's last of their 31 titles came just two years ago as they brushed aside Athletic Club with an emphatic 4-0 win in 2021.

A brace from Messi adding to the misery for the Basque side,

Am pretty sure the RFEF will be keen to avoid a Barcelona-Madrid semi-final for the fixture list headache it throws up for all involved with Madrid involved in the FIFA Club World Cup and Champions League games in February.

Barcelona too have Europa League games against Manchester United to add to the scheduling 'sudoko'

Kike Garcia is the first guest today and the veteran striker explains how special it has been for Osasuna in reaching this stage of the competition.

So... a Clasico, a battle between cup giants Athletic and FC Barcelona? All possible this morning...

New Copa song?

It was at this stage of the competition where we were 'treated' to the official Copa del Rey song as Alaska and Mario offered their 'Celebrar es Ganar' ...basically 'Taking part is winning' .... What do the Spanish FA have up their sleeve today?

Madrid fans hoping for Barça in semifinals

Many Real Madrid fans claim they want to avenge the recent defeat in the Spanish Super Cup where Xavi's side outclassed Ancelotti's side in Riyadh to secure the first silverware of the season.

Barcelona are the slight favourites to lift the title in early May followed closely by Real Madrid. Athletic figure as third favorites with Osasuna deemed as very much the outside bet with the 'Rojillos' un-fancied by many to lift the club's first ever silverware.

Today's Copa del Rey marks the first of two high profile cup draws with the FA Cup 5th round draw coming up later this evening at 20:00 CET/ 2pm (ET) and 11:00 am (PT)

Spanish Cup wins

- 31: FC Barcelona

-23: Athletic

-19: Real Madrid

- 0: Osasuna

Top 3 all-time Copa winners make semifinals

Barcelona are the undisputed king of cups having won the Copa del Rey 31 times in the club's history.

Athletic Club are also synonymous with the Spanish Cup having lifted the trophy 23 times with Real Madrid looking to add to their 19 wins.

Osasuna are the only team of the semi-final quartet never to have won the cup.

Athletic fans hoping for Osasuna

'Los Leones' fans are keen to avoid the big two (Barcelona and Real Madrid) at the semi-final stage !

Athletic did eliminate both sides last year on their path to the final but feel short against Valencia falling 2-1 on aggregate.

Counting down to the draw

Just over 30 minutes to draw time.

The draw itself will be a swift affair but I imagine the Spanish FA will string things out a little and anticipate total proceedings to take anything between 20-30 minutes.

When and where will the Copa del Rey final be played?

The 2022/23 Copa del Rey final is to be staged at Seville’s Estadio de la Cartuja on 6 May.

Real Madrid at Club World Cup complicates dates

Having won the Champions League last season, Real Madrid are the UEFA representatives at the forthcoming Club World Cup in Morocco with Ancelotti's side playing in the semi-final on 8 February.

Should Madrid draw Osasuna or Athletic, their first leg would take place on 15/16 February. But if Ancelotti's man draw Barcelona, dates would need to be found as the Catalan side are involved in Europa League action against Manchester United with the games scheduled for 16 and 23 February.  

Sixth time lucky for Osasuna?

Having reached five previous semifinals, will 2023 be the year when the side from Pamplona progress to the final of the Spanish Cup?

The only time 'Los Rojillos' have reached a final was in 2005 when they fell to Real Betis in the final.

The Copa del Rey semi-final draw will take place today at the Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) headquarters in Las Rozas, Madrid. The draw proceedings will start at: 13:00 (local time) / 07:00 am (ET) / 04:00 a PT

Hello and a warm welcome to our coverage of the 2022-23 Copa del Rey semi-final draw.