Las Rozas is set to open the 123rd Copa del Rey with an unresolved note at the edge of the draw: Prat-San Rafel and Atlético Unión Güímar-Sporting de Hortaleza were due to settle their ties on Sunday, but neither contest was completed. Their eventual winners will therefore remain unknown when the first-round draw begins at 13:00 at the Spanish Football Federation’s Ciudad del Fútbol.
Key takeaways
- The first-round fixtures are scheduled for 27, 28 and 29 October.
- Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Atlético Madrid enter only in the round of 32 because of their Spanish Super Cup commitments.
- Lower-division clubs are to host opponents from higher levels whenever the pairing rules permit it.
- Teams are arranged into geographical groups for the draw.
- VAR will not be used before the round of 16, while cup suspensions arrive after three yellow cards or a red card.
A draw shaped by geography and unfinished ties
The two delayed preliminary ties leave a small but significant gap in the field. Prat or San Rafel, and Atlético Unión Güímar or Sporting de Hortaleza, will eventually take places in the opening round, though the draw cannot yet identify which clubs those will be.
The competition regulations are designed to keep the early rounds regional where possible. Clubs are grouped by geographical proximity, with sides from the lower tier paired against higher-ranked opposition wherever practical. The lower-division team receives home advantage, bringing professional visitors to grounds across Spain before the tournament begins to narrow.
The first round will run across three days, from 27 to 29 October. Video assistance will not arrive until the last 16, and disciplinary rules set a one-match suspension at three accumulated cautions; a red card also triggers a ban.
League clubs entering the first round
Most of the participating top-flight clubs are included at this stage. In Group 1, Celta, Racing and Deportivo join Oviedo, Burgos, Sporting Gijón and Valladolid from the second tier. Real Sociedad’s and Celta’s reserve teams are excluded from the Segunda contingent.
Group 2 contains Espanyol, Athletic Club, Alavés and Osasuna among the Primera sides, alongside Girona, Eibar, Andorra and Sabadell.
Villarreal, Valencia, Elche, Levante and Málaga form the top-division element of Group 3. They are placed with Mallorca, Almería, Castellón, Ceuta, Albacete, Granada and Eldense.
Group 4 brings together Real Betis, Getafe, Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla, with UD Las Palmas, Córdoba, Leganés, Cádiz and Tenerife completing the listed clubs from the second level.
The four Super Cup participants — Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Atlético Madrid — are exempt from this opening phase and will enter in the round of 32. For everyone else, the road begins with a regionalised draw in Madrid and a first-round calendar built around the smaller stadiums that give the Copa del Rey its early-season character.
