Copa del Rey: Sixteen Liga clubs enter in first round, Barcelona and Real Madrid exempt

The first round of the 2026-2027 Copa del Rey begins this Tuesday, October 27 with 56 fixtures spread over three evenings, pitting 112 clubs ranging from regional divisions to Spanish football’s elite. Each match is played as a single leg, meaning one night is enough to eliminate a Liga club.

Sixteen of the twenty top-flight teams are involved at this stage. Villarreal, Real Betis, Celta de Vigo, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, FC Sevilla, Osasuna, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol, Alavés, Getafe, Levante, Elche, Malaga, Deportivo La Corogne and Racing Santander must therefore travel to lower-division clubs, who have home advantage.

FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Real Sociedad, qualified for the Supercopa de España, are exempt from this round and will only enter in the round of 16. Several second-division clubs are also on the schedule, including Girona, Las Palmas, Real Zaragoza, Real Oviedo and Mallorca.

Kickoff is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Aragon, where CD Cuarte hosts Girona. Eighteen matches are scheduled that day, including Sestao River against Espanyol (7:00 p.m.) and, at 9:00 p.m., CD Manacor against Villarreal, Recreativo de Huelva against Rayo Vallecano and Sporting de Alcázar against Malaga.

Wednesday, October 28 is the busiest day with 24 matches, including Navalcarnero against Real Betis, Salamanca against Celta de Vigo and Tavernes de la Valldigna against Valencia, all at 9:00 p.m. Thursday, October 29 closes the round with 14 fixtures, including AE Prat against Athletic Bilbao, Sporting Hortaleza against FC Sevilla, Ribadesella against Racing Santander and Auriense against Deportivo La Corogne, at 9:00 p.m.

The draw, conducted on October 5 according to geographical proximity criteria, was followed on October 20 by the announcement of kickoff times.