The Copa del Rey 2025-26 enters a crucial phase with a mold-breaking round of 16 draw. The draw, scheduled for Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas, will bring pairings with special conditions, preventing a repeat of the great duels between elite teams in this round. The reason: the presence of a draw made up solely of the four teams playing in the Spanish Super Cup.
This unprecedented format, which maintains a criterion of conditional pairings in this round, means that Clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético and Athletic will necessarily face rivals from lower categories, in this case from LaLiga Hypermotion and the Second Division. Thus, there will be no possibility of a Clasico or regional derbies in this round of 16.
A conditional draw that makes a difference
The special feature of the draw is that it will not be “pure”. The new format continues to favor the teams that participate in the Super Cup, placing them in a separate draw (the so-called Copa A) to face rivals that are theoretically more affordable. This is especially the case because, once the round of 32 had been held, there were no teams from the First and Second Federation alive that had not already been eliminated.
The reason for the draw to be held so late, on January 7, is because the last match of the round of 32 between Granada and Rayo Vallecano will not be played until January 6, 2026, as Rayo played their last game in the Conference League group stage on Thursday.
This is how the draw is drawn
The draw for the round of 16 will divide the teams into three pots:
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Copa A (Supercopa): Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético and Athletic.
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B Cup (First Division): Elche, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Betis, Osasuna and Alavés.
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C Cup (Second Division): Deportivo, Cultural Leonesa, Racing, Burgos and Albacete.
In addition, the result of Granada or Rayo Vallecano is pending, which will complete the quota of teams participating in this phase. In total, the round of 16 will bring together the four Supercopa clubs, five teams from the First Division and five from the Second Division, with the team that advances from the pending match still to be decided.
Dates and schedule of the Copa del Rey
The competition follows an intensive schedule in the first half of 2026:
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Round of 16: January 13, 14 and 15.
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Quarterfinals: February 4.
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First leg of the semifinals: February 11.
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Semifinal second leg: March 4.
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Final: To be confirmed.
The proximity of the round of 16 draw to the Spanish Super Cup, to be held in Saudi Arabia the week before with the final on Sunday, January 11, adds pressure to the schedule of the teams involved.
Round of 16 conditions: locations and VAR
Video Refereeing (VAR) will be introduced in this round, a tool that had not been used in previous phases of this format. In addition, the home-and-away regulations establish that lower division clubs will be the home team when they play against higher division opponents. In the crossings between teams of the same category, the team whose ball is drawn first in the draw will be the home team.
Unusual format for the round of 16: no derbies or derbies
The peculiarity of the draw lies in the restriction that prevents the top clubs from facing each other in the round of 16, something that in traditional editions could have led to direct clashes between Barcelona and Real Madrid, or between Atlético and Athletic. The existence of a closed draw with the Super Cup teams eliminates that possibility and facilitates clashes that, on paper, seem more unbalanced, with the top teams facing lower-ranked opponents.
The rationale behind this decision is to maintain competitive interest and avoid premature elimination of strong teams in the early rounds, while at the same time giving a presence to lower division clubs, who can benefit from home field advantage.
Expectations and possible pairings
Although the opponent that will emerge from the match between Granada and Rayo Vallecano has yet to be determined, the composition of the draws suggests a number of interesting scenarios for the round of 16. For example, the big names in the Super Cup could face clubs with more modest aspirations, but capable of springing a surprise in one-off ties.
Teams such as Real Sociedad, Valencia or Betis in the First Division (and others such as Deportivo or Cultural Leonesa from the Second Division) have the opportunity to measure their strength against the giants of Spanish soccer, in play-offs that will be played even before many clubs resume competition after the Super Cup.
