Barça begin Copa against Alaves

Barcelona will begin the defence of their Copa del Rey title with a last-32 tie against former UEFA Cup finalists Alaves, with a possible semi-final showdown with arch-rivals Real Madrid further down the line. Alaves enjoyed a fairytale run in the 2001 UEFA Cup, beating the likes of Inter Milan and Kaiserslautern en route to a final showdown with Liverpool, which they lost 5-4 after extra time. That came during an unprecedented five-year stint in La Liga for the side from Vitoria, but since then they have slipped down to the third tier of Spanish football. Barça, who beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 last season to clinch a record 26th Copa del Rey crown, last met Alaves in the cup in the 2006/07 season when Javier Saviola scored all five goals in a 5-3 aggregate triumph for the Catalan giants. Real, who are no strangers to upsets at this stage of the Copa, will also face Segunda Division B opposition after being paired with Alcoyano in Thursday's draw. Los Blancos suffered one of the biggest humiliations in their illustrious history in 2009 after being dumped out at the same fourth-round stage by third-tier side Alcorcon, who won the first leg 4-0 at home en route to a 4-1 aggregate victory. The previous season, again in the fourth round, Real were knocked out by Real Union, who were also playing at the third level of Spanish football. From Fifa