Barcelona draw Rayo Vallecano in Copa del Rey round of 16
Barcelona no strangers to their next Copa del Rey opponents.
Barcelona needed extra time to get past Segunda B side Cornella and avoid the same fates that befell La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Having done that, the Catalans now know their opponents for the Copa del Rey round of 16.
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The draw has seen the Blaugrana paired up with Segunda Division side, Rayo Vallecano.
The match will take place on January 27 at the Vallecas stadium and be a one-legged affair.
Rayo Vallecano are no strangers to Barca who have faced them plenty of times when they were still in the top flight.
They were the opponents in the infamous 4-0 win in 2013 when Gerardo “Tata” Martino was manager. The win was overshadowed because Barça ended the match with less possession than Rayo Vallecano.
According to Sport, however, the last time these two sides faced off against one another in the Copa del Rey was in the 1908-81 season in the quarter-finals.
Barca won the first leg 3-0 and won the second leg 3-1 and went on to win the tournament that season.
With the match taking place in Madrid, this means that in the month of January, the only game to take place at the Camp Nou will be the club’s game against Athletic Bilbao on the 31st.
Barcelona will play Rayo Vallecano away from home, which means the only game at the Camp Nou in January will be on the 31st against Athletic Club. Barça will have played eight consecutive away games by then. A record. [@alexpintanel]
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 22, 2021
With some of the heavy hitters falling in the previous round, this tournament presents another feasible opportunity for Ronald Koeman to win a trophy. They came close against the aforementioned Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup.
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This game will also be the first game Lionel Messi will be eligible to play coming off his two-match suspension following a red card against Bilbao.