On Friday, the King’s Cup of Spain won the draw for Barcelona in a difficult confrontation away from Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid host Real Sociedad, one of the strongest clubs in the domestic league.

According to the draw, the defending champion Valencia will meet outside the stadium with Granada, and (surprise) Mirandes is hosting the second-tier team, a competition from the first league, Villarreal.

Mirandes qualified for the quarter-finals after his unexpected victory over Seville 3-1 in the previous round.

The quarter-finals will be held between the fourth and sixth of next February from one round, while the semifinals will be held from two round trips.

Barcelona lost 0-1 in their last appearance at Bilbao (San Mames) last August, and they drew 0-0 with the team from the Basque Country in February.

But Barcelona has an honorable record against Bilbao at the King’s Cup level, as it has already won in the final match in 2009, 2012 and 2015.

Yesterday, Barcelona smashed its rival, Leganes 5-0, to climb to the quarter-finals of the competition, which won its title thirty times, an unprecedented record, while the Real crushed rival Real Zaragoza 4 - zero the day before yesterday.