Madrid, Oct 27 (IANS) Five La Liga teams will face lower-division opposition away from home on Wednesday as the first round of Spain’s Copa del Rey continues. Real Betis, Valencia, Celta Vigo, Alaves and Levante will all be on the road under competition rules that give lower-division clubs home advantage in the early rounds.
Betis travel to the Madrid region to face CDA Navalcarnero, which competes in the Segunda Federación, Spain’s fourth tier.
Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini is expected to make extensive changes to his starting lineup, although competition regulations require clubs to have at least seven registered first-team players on the field throughout the match.
Celta Vigo also face fourth-tier opposition when they visit Salamanca UDS, coached by former Athletic Club captain Iker Muniain, reports Xinhua.
Muniain was part of the Athletic side that won the 2024 Copa del Rey, scoring in the penalty shootout against Mallorca as the Basque club ended a 40-year wait for the trophy.
The former Spain international will be hoping for a better result than Salamanca managed when the teams met in December 2024, when Celta cruised to a 7-0 away victory.
Levante visit fifth-tier CD Tarancon, while Alaves travel to the Basque town of Azkoitia to face CD Anaitasuna. Valencia are also expected to progress when they visit CFUE Tavernes de la Valldigna, the small club that competes in the regional leagues of the Valencian Community.
All five top-flight clubs will be seeking to avoid an early upset in a competition that has frequently provided lower-league sides with opportunities to test themselves against Spain’s leading teams.
The first round of Spain’s Copa del Rey involves 16 La Liga sides in action this week. The knockout format means that lower-division clubs get home advantage against top-flight opponents in the opening rounds, providing them with an important source of revenue and raising hopes of a giant-killing act.
The first round features clubs from across Spain’s football pyramid, including several amateur and regional sides that have qualified through the preliminary rounds and will host La Liga opponents.
Cup holders Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who will compete in the Spanish Supercup in February, are exempt from the first two rounds.
The gulf in quality between amateur sides and La Liga clubs makes an upset unlikely, but the competition offers players from little-known small clubs a night to remember.
–IANS
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