Potential Copa del Rey semi final opponents:Alavés, Atlético Madrid and Celta
With Real Sociedad safely out of the way, FC Barcelona are through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. The next issue to sort out is who will they be meeting next,,,
The draw is being held at 1.00pm CET on Friday at the headquarters of the Spanish Football Federation, and the trio joining the blaugrana in the last four are Alavès, Atlético Madrid and Celta. The games will be played on February 1 and 8 (exact date TBC)
Other than record 28-times winners Barça, Atlético Madrid is the only previous winner left in the competition. They have ten titles to their name, and reached the semis by beating Eibar 5-2 on aggregate.
Alavés are in the semis for the fifth time in their history but have yet to make it into the grand final. Could this finally be their year? Celta have been there three times before, but each final has ended in disappointment and they are still waiting to get their hands on the cup.
It all makes Barça hot favourites to win a third Copa del Rey in a row. They have reached the semi-finals ten times in the last eleven years – the 2009/10 season being the only time they missed out.
Here’s a reminder of how far the Catalans have gone in each of the last ten editions of the Copa del Rey:
SEASON | LAST OPPONENT | PLACING |
2006/07 | Getafe | Semi-finals |
2007/08 | Valencia | Semi-finals |
2008/09 | Athletic Club | Champions |
2009/10 | Sevilla | Round of 16 |
2010/11 | Real Madrid | Runners-up |
2011/12 | Athletic Club | Champions |
2012/13 | Real Madrid | Semi-finals |
2013/14 | Real Madrid | Runners-up |
2014/15 | Athletic Club | Champions |
2015/16 | Sevilla | Champions |
2016/17 | ? | Semi-finals-? |