Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos (front) competes during the Spanish La Liga football match between Real Madrid and UD Almeria in Madrid, Spain, April 29, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

Real Madrid and Osasuna will play the final of the Copa del Rey in the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville on Saturday night.

While Real Madrid are looking to win the competition for the 20th time in their history, Osasuna, who are from Pamplona in northern Spain, are making just their second final appearance after having lost 2-1 to Real Betis in 2005.

Real Madrid reached the final after beating Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals and FC Barcelona in the semis - rounding that tie off with a resounding 4-0 win in the Camp Nou Stadium.

Osasuna beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinal and left Sevilla and reigning Cup holders Betis by the wayside in previous rounds - all of which went to extra time, with the Betis tie decided by a penalty shootout.

With Barcelona out of sight in the race for La Liga, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been rotating his squad in recent matches to try to ensure his players are as sharp as possible for Saturday's game.

The Italian does have one problem however, with the first leg of Madrid's Champions League semifinal against Manchester City on Tuesday night, meaning there is very little recovery time between two vital games.

Luka Modric is Real Madrid's main worry, with the veteran Croatian struggling with a muscle injury, and his presence on Saturday night is still up in the air.

If Modric is fit, he will play alongside Toni Kroos and probably Fede Valverde in midfield, with Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo in attack.

Eduardo Camavinga has impressed filling in at left-back, while Eder Militao, Nacho and Dani Carvajal will play in defense.

Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate has also rested players ahead of his side's biggest game in 18 years, with Ante Budimir, Chimy Avila, David Lopez and Aimar Oroz all used sparingly.

Despite losing their last league meeting to Real Madrid 2-0, Arrasate will highlight that they pushed Madrid all the way in that game and were only undone by two late goals. His side will look to hustle and keep tight on Madrid, using Avila and Budimir as an outlet for their attacks.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)