Cakewalk Cup Draw: Real Madrid and Barcelona Grab a Cushioned Route to Copa del Rey Round of 16
7 January 2026
Round of 16 Draw Brings Light Paths for Real Madrid and Barcelona
The Round of 16 draw for the Copa del Rey, held this Wednesday in Las Rozas, yielded relatively comfortable ties for the big two clubs.
Atlético Madrid were drawn against Deportivo La Coruña, a two-time cup winner now in a tough fight to return to the top flight.
Deportivo La Coruña had earlier eliminated Mallorca in this edition, signaling their intent to cause more upsets.
Barcelona were paired with Racing Santander, a team long feared by the giants but now in the second division after a difficult spell; Racing had also knocked Villarreal out in Round 32.
Racing Santander had previously eliminated Villarreal in the round of 32.
Real Madrid travel to Carlos Belmonte to face Alavés, who had knocked out Celta Vigo in the previous round.
In the other ties, Burgos take on Valencia, while Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alavés will host Elche, Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano respectively.
The complete Round of 16 fixtures are:
Deportivo La Coruña – Atlético Madrid
Racing Santander – Barcelona
Cultural Leonesa – Athletic Bilbao
Alavés – Real Madrid
Burgos – Valencia
Real Betis – Elche
Real Sociedad – Osasuna
Deportivo Alavés – Rayo Vallecano
Punchline: If predicting draws were an Olympic sport, these cups would have broken records by now.
Punchline 2: The trophy better hire a GPS—it's changing hands faster than a referee changes cards.
