Copa del Rey Draw

In the Round of 32, Real Madrid played against Ponferradina and beat them 7-1 on aggregate with some great goals and good play especially in the second leg. The Round of 16 has now been confirmed where Real Madrid will play against Malaga on January 4.

As for rivals, Barcelona, they played against L'Hospitalet and beat them 10-0 on aggregate. They will be playing against Osasuna in the Round of 16.

Now, here is where the problem comes. If both, Real Madrid and Barcelona, win in the Round of 16, they will play each other during the Quarter-Finals of the Copa del Rey and, let's be honest, it will be a game that both teams are worried to play yet Madristas will be the people who are more fearful due to past experiences.

Focusing mostly on the three encounters this season, it's mostly a "roller-coster" prediction. When Real Madrid faced Barcelona in the Supercopa before the season began, Barcelona won overall but it was a game that could have easily gone the other way. As the first leg ended 2-2, both teams kept fighting and by the end of the second leg it was 2-2 again until Lionel Messi proved to be the difference by scoring a very late goal to end the games 5-4 on aggregate. Things were looking good though overall for the Whites as the season was about to kick off. All around, you could hear the talks from Madristas: "This is our year"; "Barcelona's reign will end and Real Madrid will be back to where they belong" and many more positive thoughts were floating. As for the Catalans, their thoughts were very different from each other with some saying "We will keep winning no matter what" or "Yes, this is the year Real Madrid come back. We need to be careful".

As these talks were going on, we saw some great performances from both teams and it was time for the first Clasico of the League this season. We all know how that went as Real Madrid showed that they are STILL fearful of the Catalans and lost 3-1.

Yes, Real Madrid are ahead by 3 points, but the talks have changed. The fear from the past seasons have started to kick in. And even worse, the fact that Real Madrid are still not ready to beat the rivals is once again becoming a truth that many may have to accept. As Real Madrid crashed against Barcelona, so did any hope of winning "for sure". Yes, the league is far from over and anything can happen but no doubt that this was still a blow.

Now, the possibility of Real Madrid and Barcelona meeting again next month (if both make it to the Quarter-Finals) is very real and the discomfort is back from many Madristas.

My honest thoughts are that Real Madrid can beat them if we play our game but a part of me is already giving up on the CdR because of that game. Of course, you never know what can happen in football nowadays but we have to face reality and something NEEDS to change if we are to beat them during the next encounter. There is also the possibility that we could play them during the Champions League but nothing has been confirmed yet. We will think of that if/when it happens.

The draw is as follows:

What are your thoughts on the potential game?