Real and Barca face repeat ties in King's Cup

Real Madrid and Barcelona were handed repeats of last season's opening King's Cup ties when the draw for the first round of the competition took place on Wednesday.

Losing finalists Real found themselves matched with fellow Madrid side Leganes, who almost caused an upset last season when they led the tie until two minutes from the end of normal time, but finally lost out 4-3 to Real in extra time.

"It's great news for the fans and for the board," said Leganes president Jesus Polo, whose side were relegated to the third division at the end of last season. "The gate money will be very welcome indeed."

Another third division side to hit the jackpot were Gramenet who find themselves up against Barcelona for the second year in succession.

A spectacular goal from Ronaldinho was all that separated the two teams the last time they met.

King's Cup holders Real Zaragoza were handed what appears to be a straight-forward opening tie away to second division Gimnastic de Tarragona.

Zaragoza, who claimed a dramatic 3-2 extra-time victory over Real Madrid in last season's final, are riding high in the Primera Liga and should have little difficulty disposing of their newly promoted opponents.

Of all the top flight teams Valencia face what looks to be the toughest tie against Lleida, who are in second place in the second division after a promising start to the season.

Primera Liga teams were deliberately kept apart in the draw which was organised on a geographical basis.

The two fourth division sides still left in the competition after the preliminary rounds were handed high profile ties against Primera Liga opposition.

Cerceda play last season's Champions League semi-finalists Deportivo Coruna and Gimnastica Segoviana meet Cup experts Athletic Bilbao.

The one-off ties are scheduled to be played at the grounds of the lower ranked teams on October 27. Where teams are in the same division, the first out of the hat plays at home.