The Round of 16 in the Spanish Copa del Rey has given fans and experts quite a few headlines before its start and following the first two games. Now, all the excitement of this competition will see some of the top teams from this country battling for a spot in the Quarterfinals.
While there will be some major teams involved in Wednesday's action, most of the attention will be held by Barcelona and Real Madrid on Thursday. The Blaugrana side, who come to this competition in high spirits after their win in the Supercopa, will have the duty of beating third-tier team Ceuta, who are the team with the lowest rank to make it to this stage of the tournament.
A couple of hours later, Real Madrid will have a tough outing against Villarreal, a team that defeated them recently and who seem to have the key to give Los Blancos a hard time. This is a crucial time for Real Madrid in the season, as they have already lost the first title of this campaign and winning this tournament has become crucial to their hopes of success.
Let us have a look at all the fixtures.
Sporting Gijón vs Valencia - Valencia have dominated their recent fixtures against Sporting, but Sporting came near to eliminating Los Naranjeros in this same tournament back in 2019. Nevertheless, a 3-0 win for Valencia in the decisive game after losing the first leg was enough to see them through. This was their last meeting in all comps, as Sporting was relegated in 2017 and has not returned to the top-flight ever since.
Athletic Club vs Espanyol - The most recent clash between these teams ended one-nil in favor of Espanyol, which represents one of their three wins this campaign. Athletic have not been as impressive as expected under coach Ernesto Valverde, but this competition has suited Los Leones fine in recent years, and there is no indication on why they shouldn't continue their run for a title here.
Levante vs Atlético Madrid - If the current course of things is going to change for Atlético, they need to start now against Levante. The team from Valencia makes it to this match on a four-game streak without a loss against Los Colchoneros, but history between these clubs has always been on Atlético's side, who will try to add one more win to their 21 victories against the Blaugrana side.
Real Betis vs Osasuna - The team from Andalucía returns to action following their early exit from the Supercopa, and they do so against Osasuna, a team they have managed to beat on nine of their past ten meetings. Osasuna have not been able to defeat Betis since both teams were part of the Segunda División, and this will be their first Copa del Rey meeting since the tournament final in 2005...which went Real Betis' way.
Ceuta vs Barcelona - Barcelona make it to this game on a high after winning the Supercopa de España, and while Xavi has already stated he will rotate his team for this game, we can expect him to field a solid team for this clash. As for Ceuta, their three previous games against Barcelona were held over a decade ago and under a new name. Will their new denomination help them accomplish the biggest win in club history? We know it's far-fetched, but miracles can happen in this competition!
Villarreal vs Real Madrid - Los Blancos seem to be struggling quite a bit in recent times, and this could be a decisive moment of the season for Ancelotti's men. Los Merengues have only beaten Villarreal in three of their last ten games, with most of those ending in a draw, and to make matters worse, their last match ended in a 2-1 win for the Yellow Submarine. This will be the first Copa del Rey match between these teams since 1999, a tie in which Real Madrid prevailed with a four-nil aggregate.
