Madrid to face Athletic Bilbao in Copa del Rey quarterfinals

Madrid, January 21 (BNA): Real Madrid and its host Athletic Bilbao will face each other for the fourth time in two months when they meet in the King’s Cup quarter-final.

Valencia also host Cadiz in the one-round draw on Friday, Real Betis plays at Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano hosts Mallorca, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Last week, Real Madrid beat Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia, and beat its rival Basque Country twice in the Spanish League matches last month.

Quarter-final matches will take place in two weeks and will likely see clubs missing their South American players on international assignments. Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Casemiro are among the Real Madrid players expected to be absent. Rayo will miss Radamel Falcao and Betis goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

Athletic overtook Barcelona in the round of 16, while Madrid eliminated Elche. Both games went into overtime on Thursday.

And Athletic was runner-up against Barcelona in the cup final last year. He lost the previous final against his rival Real Sociedad in the Basque Country. Athletic’s last title in the tournament came in 1984, and Real Madrid are seeking their first cup title since 2013-2014.

Sociedad Atlético de Madrid was eliminated on Wednesday.

M