It’s three weeks into the 2019/20 season of Spanish football and it is a season which will witness significant changes. First, we have the change to the Supercopa de España, usually played as the first match of a new season, now remodeled and moved to January with a new four-team format. Then we have the new-look Copa del Rey which could produce some of the most exciting moments in recent times.
Read on and take note of the key dates to not miss as the season progresses.
29 September 2019 – La Liga Match-Day 7; Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
The city rivalry that has turned out to be one of the world’s premier city derbies, and one of the rivalries to watch out for this season. The first of the two official clashes (pending the outcome of the Copa del Rey) will hold on 29 September.
27 October 2020 – La Liga Match-Day 10 – Barcelona vs Real Madrid
The world’s most-watched football match is back and bigger, because we now have an assortment of superstars on both sides of the Clasico divide ready to show what they’re made of. Zinedine Zidane’s men will have played their toughest two away games of the campaign already by that point before going to Camp Nou on Sunday 27 October.
17-19 December 2019 – Copa del Rey first Round
The first round of the Copa del Rey will be played in mid-December and unlike in previous seasons, every side in La Liga will participate at this stage except for those competing in January’s Supercopa. We are looking forward to this as we could be seeing some upsets in the competition by the smaller teams. It will take the same format as the FA Cup in England – one-off matches pitting La Liga sides against the smaller sides in Spain who play in the lower leagues of Spain like the Copa Federación, Tercera División and Regional Leagues. Lots will be drawn to determine the home team if two smaller teams are drawn together, while the smaller team is automatically the home team if they are paired with the bigger teams. An away match will only happen if the first leg match ends in a draw. This new format of the Copa del Rey will see a whopping 56 matches taking place.
8-12 January 2020 – Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey second Round
When the season resumes in 2020 from the winter break, it will resume with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Valencia competing for the Supercopa in a four-team tournament which will take place outside of Spain. Meanwhile back in Spain, the Copa del Rey second Round will be taking place on that same weekend with the 56 first round winners in action.
21-23 January 2020 – Copa del Rey third Round (Last 32)
At this stage is when we will see Barcelona, Valencia and the Madrid clubs enter the Copa del Rey. As with the one-off ties in the first and second round, this round will be played at the home ground of the team from the lower division with the same format for the fourth Round and Quarter-Finals which immediately follow in two weeks from the last 32over.
2 February 2020 – La Liga Match-Day 22 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
The Santiago Bernabeu will host the second Madrid derby of the season. Atleti are unbeaten in six league visits to the home of their city rivals and will be hoping to extend this record, their best ever unbeaten streak at the Bernabeu.
11-13 February 2020 – Copa del Rey Semi-Final first Legs
The Copa del Rey will revert to the usual format it is known for in this stage, the semi-final stage. There will be home and away legs to determine the finalists, and if there are any lower-league teams remaining, they are automatically the first home team.
29 February/1 March 2020 – La Liga Match-Day 26 – Real Madrid vs Barcelona
The second Clasico of the season could see the first ever Clasico played on 29 February, as 2020 is a leap year. It won’t be a title decider though, as both sides will have twelve more matches after the match.
However, if Los Blancos stay sharp, it could be the biggest league Clasico in a while.
3-5 March 2020 – Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Legs
The Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Legs will take place the week following the Clasico. Valencia will be out to defend their crown having pulled a major upset against Barcelona in the 2019 Final.
18 April 2020 – Copa del Rey Final
The final will take place before the end of the 2019/20 league season due to the Euro 2020 tournament taking place in the summer of 2020. There will be no league action on this weekend, however there is a full midweek schedule of league matches immediately following it.
23 and 24 May 2020 – La Liga Final Weekend
The 2019/20 La Liga season comes to an end on this weekend. Barcelona go to Alaves on the final day while Real Madrid play city neighbours, Leganes. Atletico will be at home to Real Sociedad. Also, two of the newly promoted teams, Osasuna and Mallorca, will be clashing and this game has the potential to be a very significant game in the battle for survival.
Other La Liga Derby Dates
Because derbies in Spain are awesome, we are going to make sure you don’t miss the dates for the derby clashes you should look out for. See dates below.
- 19/20 October – Getafe vs Leganes
- 9/10 November – Real Betis vs Sevilla
- 18/19 January – Leganes vs Getafe
- 14/15 March 2020 – Sevilla vs Real Betis
Make sure to mark your calendars for these dates and get a wholesome 2019/20 season experience.
