The Copa del Rey starts this Monday for the First and Second teams with the draw for the first round, in which a total of 112 teams participate. In the drums of the event that is held in La Cartuja there will be 10 teams from the preliminary inter-territorial elimination, 14 from Third Division, 46 from Second B, another 4 from Second B from the RFEF Cup, 22 from Second Division and 16 from First. There will be 4 teams missing from the highest category, including Real Madrid (in addition to Barcelona, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad), which are exempt from playing the first two rounds of the KO tournament.
The reason why Real Madrid is not in this Cup draw is their participation in the next edition of the Spanish Super Cup as champion of the last League. With the remodeling that both the Super Cup and the King's Cup underwent last season, the four participating teams (the champions and runners-up in the League and Cup the previous season) in the new quadrangular format of the Super Cup are exempt from playing the first two qualifying rounds. of the KO tournament.
With that premise, Zidane's team will not begin their participation in the Cup until January 20 in the round of 32 tie, which, like all except the semifinals, are played in a single match.
What is Madrid doing on the dates of the first two Cup qualifiers?
The compression of the calendar due to the delay in the completion of last season due to confinement makes this year the dates that the Cup releases for exempt teams are even more important. Thus, coinciding with the first tie on December 16, Madrid will play in advance their match of the 19th La Liga match against Athletic at the Di Stéfano. On the date of the second tie, Madrid has no commitment set in the calendar.
Calendar of the Copa del Rey 2020-2021
| Round | Date |
| 1st round | December 16, 2020 |
| 2nd round | January 6, 2021 |
| 1/16 final | January 16, 2021 * |
| Round of 16 | January 27, 2021 |
| Quarter finals | February 3, 2021 |
| Semifinals (first leg) | February 10, 2021 |
| Semifinals (second leg) | March 3, 2021 |
| FINAL | April 17, 2021 |
The 4 teams participating in the Spanish Super Cup (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic and Real Sociedad) will play their match on January 20, 2021.
The whites will begin their participation in the round of 32, but will not do so at the same time as the rest of the teams. 12 matches of the tie will be played on Saturday, January 16, 2021, on the weekend of the Super Cup final and the pairings of Madrid and the other 3 teams that travel to Arabia will be played on January 20. Apart from those late Cup games, that Wednesday the 19th day of the League is scheduled, except for the Super Cup teams that, as we have mentioned before, will play it early on December 16.