Athletic look ahead to the Copa: draw on 5 October

Athletic already have the Copa timeline in view: on 5 October at 13:00 the first-round draw will be held, and the Lions are set to begin on 28 September (Assembly day) or, if needed, on 29 September. This time they won’t be exempt from the first two qualifying ties, unlike the last two seasons when they played the Supercopa.

The competition rules, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, say the fixtures will be arranged using geographical proximity and aim to pair lower-tier clubs with higher-ranked sides where possible. After the preliminary stage, this weekend’s second legs will see the ten successful teams cross paths with ten Primera clubs.

A potential Sestao River derby is also in the mix, but Athletic first have to handle the Copa Federación. This evening at Las Llanas (19:30), the match against Terrasa is a one-off, with the four semi-finalists taking a direct place in the KO tournament and a guaranteed meeting with a Primera team.