Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid both drew fourth-tier clubs in the third round of the 2024/25 Copa del Rey.
While Hansi Flick's La Liga leaders go up against UD Barbastro for the second season on the spin, Real Madrid have been paired with CD Minera. Both ties will take place on either 3, 4 or 5 January 2025, although the final times and dates are yet to be finalised in Spanish football's forever changeable calendar.
Real Madrid's tie may be delayed even further given the complications of rescheduling their La Liga fixture with Valencia, which was postponed in October following severe flooding in the area.
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Whenever the cup tie does eventually kick off, it will not be held at Minera's modest venue, Estadio Municipal Angel Celdran. Due to poor infrastructure, Carlo Ancelotti will take his mighty Galacticos to Cartagonova, the home of nearby Cartagena.
Barcelona know all about the Campo Municipal de Deportes Barbastro. While the region is famed for its delicious tomatoes, the Catalan giants will associate it with a narrow escape. A side led by Xavi Hernandez had to hold on for a 3-2 victory in January 2024, scraping into the fourth round as 6,000 spectators from a town of 16,000 rewarded their beaten hosts with a standing ovation.
Neither side can scarcely afford to be overexerted as the congested fixture list allows for little let-up. Barca and Real Madrid are both in action in the Spanish Supercup a few days after their cup ties. While the capital club go up against Mallorca on 9 January, Barca are pitted against reigning Copa del Rey champions Athletic Club one day earlier.
To add to the mounting sense of congestion, both fixtures and the final scheduled for 12 January will be staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - more than 4,000 miles away from Spanish soil.
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