Albacete vs FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals 25-26

FC Barcelona now knows who its third opponent will be in its Copa del Rey title defense. The draw held this January 19th at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas has paired the Blaugrana with Albacete Balompié, a Second Division team, in a single-leg away quarter-final tie.

The match, which will be played at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte, will take place on Tuesday, February 3rd at 9:00 PM. Hansi Flick's Barça comes into the game after eliminating Racing de Santander in the round of 16 (0-2), while the Manchego team, fourteenth in the Liga Hypermotion standings, pulled off the biggest surprise of the round of 16 by eliminating Real Madrid (3-2).

Previously, the team now managed by Alberto González beat UD San Fernando (0-3), Leganés (0-1), and Celta (2-2, 5-2 on penalties) to advance to the Copa quarter-finals. Barça, for their part, eliminated Guadalajara (0-2) in the round of 32.

A knockout tie after the Champions League league phase

The tie against Albacete will be played one week after the last matchday of the Champions League group stage, where Barça will host Copenhagen (Wednesday, January 28) and in between two league matches, against Elche on Saturday the 31st (9:00 PM CEST) and Mallorca (date and time to be confirmed). 

Right after the quarterfinals are played, on Friday, February 6, the RFEF will draw the semifinal matchups, the only stage of the tournament with two-legged ties. The first leg will be played on Tuesday, February 10, and Wednesday, February 11, meaning the week after the quarterfinal ties.

**The return leg, on the other hand, is scheduled for March 4th and 5th**, after the Champions League play-offs. For now, Hansi Flick's team has a high probability of playing in the round of 16 play-offs, awaiting what happens in the last two matchdays of the group stage.

First Copa del Rey clash between Barcelona and Albacete

Xavi Hernández during a Barça-Albacete match in the 2003/04 season

The quarter-final tie of the 2025-26 Copa del Rey will be the first in the tournament's history between Albacete and Barcelona. In the league, both teams have faced each other on 14 occasions, with 9 wins for the Catalans, 4 draws, and a single victory for Albacete.

Albacete surprised the Blaugrana team on matchday 37 of LaLiga 94/95 at Camp Nou (0-1), with a solitary goal from Croatian Nenad Bjelica. That season, Barça finished fourth and Albacete seventeenth.

The last time Barça played as visitors at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte was in the 2004/05 season. On December 11, 2004, the team then managed by Frank Rijkaard won by the narrowest of margins (1-2) with goals from Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández

In the second round, there was also a Blaugrana victory (2-0) with goals from Samuel Eto'o and the first from Leo Messi with the club. The Catalans were champions and Alba were relegated to the Second Division in what was, until now, their last season in the elite of Spanish football.

Flick's Barça seeks to overcome its seventh consecutive tie

Against Albacete, Hansi Flick's Barcelona will seek to extend their dominance in the Copa del Rey. The Catalans overcame their six previous rounds in the tournament, with a record of 6 wins and 1 draw (23 goals for, 5 against). Barça's dominance is total in the Cup, with 53 rounds overcome out of the last 58 and only a couple of defeats in the round of 16 since 2010