Barcelona face Real Betis, while Real Madrid face Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 next week.
The Spanish giants navigated their third-round fixtures against fourth-tier opposition without much fanfare last weekend. Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 win over Barbastro, with the only sticking point being the absence of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor during them. prolonged contract stalemate. Even the defeated hosts had something to cheer about, as Israel Garcia proposed to his girlfriend after the game.
Real Madrid were equally comfortable in a 5-0 thrashing of Deportiva Minera as Carlo Ancelotti shuffled his pack ahead of a packed festive fixture list.
Atletico Madrid narrowly got past Marbella in the last round and face another lower league opponent in the form of Elche next week.
The powers that be in the Spanish football federation haven't given their teams much time to prepare. Some clubs will have less than a week to research their opponents ahead of the round of 16 fixtures scheduled for January 14, 15 and 16 next week.
Barcelona and Real Madrid could both be involved in the Spanish Super Cup final, which will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, January 12. The Clasico duo are already in the Middle East for the semi-final matches against Athletic Club and Mallorca respectively.
As with all Copa del Rey matches prior to the semi-finals, the matches will be played as a single leg. In a new development, VAR will be in operation.