Madrid, Barça to face 4th tier opposition in cup

Real Madrid and Barcelona will both face fourth-tier opposition in the Copa del Rey third round after the draw was made on Tuesday, with Madrid travelling to Arandina CF and Barca away at UD Barbastro.

The third round sees a first involvement in this season's competition for the four teams involved in next month's Spanish Supercopa: Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Osasuna.

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Atlético will travel to CD Lugo, while Osasuna visit CD Castellon.

The one-off knockout ties will be played on Jan. 6 and 7, 2024, with the winners advancing to the round of 16.

UD Barbastro and Arandina CF both play in the Segunda Federacion, Spanish football's fourth tier.

Arandina are based in the city of Aranda de Duero, in Castile and Leon, while Barbastro is a city in Huesca province, in the north of the country.

Arandina qualified for the third round by beating First Division Cádiz in a 2-1 upset last week, while Barbastro eliminated top flight strugglers Almería 1-0.

Other third round ties include Malaga v Real Sociedad, Unionistas de Salamanca v Villarreal and Elche v Girona.

Tenerife will play Las Palmas in a Canary Islands derby, while a Basque derby will see Eibar host Athletic Club.

Real Madrid are the reigning Copa del Rey holders after beating Osasuna 2-1 in the final in Seville on May 6, 2023 -- the first time they had won the trophy in nine years -- while Barça have lifted the trophy in five of the last ten seasons.

Barça have won a record 31 Copas del Rey, with Athletic Club second in the all-time rankings on 23 trophies, and Madrid third, with 20.