January 6, 2025. 8:00 p.m. Cartagena. “Cartagonova”.
Copa del Rey 2024-25. Round of 16
Mining Sports – Real Madrid
Suspended : David Morante (Deportiva Minera)
Injured: Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Jesus Vallejo (all – Real Madrid)
Mining Sports
The Deportiva Minera football club was founded almost 100 years ago (1927), but it has remained largely unknown to the general public. This is hardly surprising, as the “Red Eagles” have no significant achievements. In the early days of Spanish professional football, they had two seasons in the third division, but mainly played in the fifth. Recently their results have improved slightly – in 2011 Deportiva Minera were promoted to the fourth division, but after a league restructuring they found themselves back in the fifth. However, last season they managed to come back. Additionally, for the first time in their history, the club from the Murcia region qualified for the Copa del Rey.
This local success was led by the young coach known as Popi (Jose Perez Veiga), who celebrated his 37th birthday on January 1. He has been coaching Deportiva Minera since June 2022. The ‘Red Eagles’ had a rather poor first season under Popi, but they managed to secure promotion at the end of the second. Additionally, the debutants surprised by reaching the knockout stages of the Copa del Rey, where they will now face the mighty Real Madrid. In the first round of the tournament, Minera achieved an impressive 5-0 away victory against Tudelano (another representative of the fourth division), then became the biggest sensation of the second round, alongside Logrones, Pontevedra and Barbastro, eliminating Alaves. The Mursiens took the lead twice during the match, but Kike Garcia equalized each time before the hosts won in the penalty shootout.
Under Popi, the team has also performed well in the regular league, although they have recently started to falter. Currently, Deportiva Minera is in a winless streak of four matches, with two draws and two defeats, which pushed the “Red Eagles” to 8th place in the standings. One of the draws came against UCAM (Murcia), the sole leader of their group in the fourth division. Minera are 11 points behind the leader, but they are just three points from the promotion playoffs.
Real Madrid
For the “Whites”, the Copa del Rey begins in the round of 16, but they have already played one match in the new year. A few days ago, Carlo Ancelotti’s team faced Valencia away and, as expected, encountered significant challenges. Nevertheless, the match ended well for Madrid who came back victorious 2-1, despite being a man down. The “Bats” dominated the first half and deservedly won it. After the break, the hosts adopted a defensive style, and Real had the advantage on all fronts: Bellingham missed a penalty, Mbappe’s goal was canceled, and what’s more, Madrid’s players created and spoiled several other scoring chances.
In the 79th minute, the referee made a strange decision by sending off Vinicius Junior – yes, he lost his cool again, but slight contact with an opponent is hardly an offense worthy of a red card. However, playing with ten players, the visitors managed to first equalize, then score a winning goal in added time following a serious defensive error from “Los Ches”. Luka Modric made the initial breakthrough, becoming the oldest goalscorer in Real Madrid’s history, while Jude Bellingham scored the decisive goal, making amends for the missed penalty. By the way, the Englishman also provided the assist to Luka.
Thanks to this victory, Real Madrid are now at the top of La Liga, taking two points ahead of Atletico, although in a few days the ‘Colchoneros’ should probably win again and regain first place. After visiting Cartagena, Carlo Ancelotti’s team will head to Saudi Arabia for a match against Mallorca in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup. If they succeed, Real will face the winner of the match between Athletic and FC Barcelona. This would give them the opportunity to clinch their third title of the season, following victories in the UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental World Cup.
Mining – Real: Predicted lineups
The “Red Eagles” will be without their key central defender David Morante, who was sent off during the match against Alaves. No further injury information was available for Popi’s team. As for Real, they will also be without Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba. In addition, eternal substitute Jesus Vallejo is absent, making it difficult for Carlo Ancelotti to select his starting team. Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger are also excluded from the set. However, six players from the cantera are included in the lineup, including two goalkeepers. I’m skeptical but I still anticipate that three of the four young players will start. In general, in a busy match schedule, this cup match is a fantastic opportunity to rest most of the first team players. However, knowing Ancelotti’s aversion to rotation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see all the stars on the pitch except Courtois and Rudiger.
Mining – Real: Author’s prediction
Whatever the starting line-up, Real remains the big favorite for this meeting. They could start the game with youngsters, substitutes and old Luka in the middle, making adjustments if something isn’t working. As for the prediction, I expect a comfortable victory for the “Whites” in a low-intensity performance, with a difference of 3-4 goals.
