Real Betis begin their Copa del Rey campaign against Navalcarnero on Thursday 12 November 2026 at Santo Domingo in Alcorcón. The club's squad announcement dated 11 November gives a 19:00 Spanish-time kick-off, equivalent to 20:00 in Jerusalem. LaLiga's official match record confirms the venue and appointment.
The rearranged first-round tie now falls in the international break. Betis list nine players unavailable because of national-team commitments, including Álvaro Valles, Marc Roca, Ez Abde and Troy Parrott. Cucho Hernández is also absent while recovering from injury. Giovani Lo Celso returns to a squad containing several academy players, although selection for the travelling group does not establish the starting eleven.
Navalcarnero bring a recent record that gives the challenge substance. Betis's opponent profile, published on Wednesday, records six unbeaten Segunda Federación matches: three wins and three draws. The run includes recovering from 2–0 down to beat Numancia 3–2 and drawing 2–2 at Guadalajara. Those results provide a concrete reason to examine the home side's competitiveness rather than judge the tie only by the clubs' relative profiles.
There is also a personal connection for Betis goalkeeper Diego Conde, who played for Navalcarnero in 2018–19, according to the same club feature. The opening cup assignment therefore combines squad management during international absences with a meeting against an opponent maintaining an unbeaten run, and a potential reunion with one of Conde's former teams.
Juanmi for Real Betis against Zenit on 17 February 2022; archival, not the current cup fixture. Image credit: Vyacheslav Evdokimov / FC Zenit — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0. No editorial alteration to the photograph.
