FC Barcelona was lucky in the draw for the round of 16 of the Cup. The Barça team had to face the only team left in the First Federation pot, Unionistas de Salamanca, which just a few hours ago had just been eliminated on penalties to Villarreal. The other Catalan team in the running, Girona, was paired with Rayo Vallecano, with the match to be played in Montilivi. The matches will be played between January 16 and 19, in a round in which there will already be VAR.
The star tie of the round of 16 will be the Madrid derby, an Atlético-Real Madrid match that will be played this time at the Metropolitano. Last year they met in the quarterfinals at the Bernabéu and the whites went through. The duel will be the third Madrid derby in a few days. On Wednesday they play the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh and on February 3 or 4 they play again in the League, this time at the Bernabéu. It was against Atlético in the first round of this league that Madrid suffered the only defeat of the season.
The draw also produced a Basque Basque derby and another Basque Navarrese derby. Athletic will host Alavés in San Mamés and the current runners-up, Osasuna, will face Real Sociedad at Sadar.
There will also be a duel that was the 2007 Cup final, a Getafe-Sevilla that will be played at the Coliseum. In that final Sevilla won at the Bernabéu (1-0). The two island teams were paired, which gave rise to a Tenerife-Mallorca match that will be played at the Heliodoro.
Another tie with a certain morbidity is the one that will be played in Mestalla, where Valencia receives Celta coached by Rafa Benítez, the most successful coach in Valencia’s recent history.
