AKARTA – Real Madrid will look to move on from their Spanish Super Cup disappointment when they host Celta Vigo at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, in the Copa del Rey match on Thursday, January 16.
year, Los Blancos had secured their place in the last 16 with a major 5-0 victory over Deportivo Minera, while Celta Vigo had to fight hard to turn things around and win over Santander in the third round.
Real Madrid begins 2025 with a strong schedule, playing four matches in the first half of January, far more than Celta who have only played twice this month. In physical form, of course, Celta is better.
Los Blancos opened the year with a 2-1 La Liga victory over Valencia, followed by an intense victory over Minera in the Copa del Rey. However, their trip to Saudi Arabia to retain the Spanish Super Cup title did not go smoothly.
Although Carlo Ancelotti took his team to the final with a 3-0 victory over Town Hall, they had to accept the harsh reality in the match ahead when they lost 5-2 to Barcelona as a result. The defeat is increasingly painful as they lost the El Clasico in the last three months after going down 4-0 at their own home last October in La Liga.
Failing to win the trophy in Saudi Arabia makes Real Madrid now very motivated to win the Copa del Rey match against Celta Vigo. Los Blancos have ambitions to increase their collection of Copa del Rey trophies which now stands at 20.
At Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid have an impressive record winning their last five home matches in all competitions with an aggregate score of 6-2. Furthermore, they have also dominated Celta Vigo in the last nine meetings, including a 2-1 victory at Bala2 last October.
time, Celta Vigo must surpass three matches to reach the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. They scored 12 goals in the first two rounds against Ud San Pedro and Salamanca UDS, but had to struggle to beat Racing Santander in the third round.
In the match, Celta fell behind 2-1 against Santander who played with 10 players. Alfon Gonzalez’s 86th-minute suicide goal and match-winning goal during the injury period secured a 3-2 victory for Los Celestes.
However, in La Liga, Celta failed to achieve a positive result when they lost 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano on Friday. The defeat kept them in 12th place.
Despite facing serious challenges at the Santiago Bernabeu, Celta can look back on their success in the last 16 of last season’s Copa del Rey, when they won 3-1 against Valencia in a Tangier match for qualify for the quarter-finals.
however, history is not on the visiting team’s side, as the last time they beat Real Madrid was in January 2017. Interestingly, the 2-1 victory happened in the Copa del Rey, with Celta a 4-2 aggregate victory to advance to the next round.
Madrid are still without reinforcements from Eder Militao and Dani Carujal who were out until the end of the season with a ligament injury.
-David Alaba is expected to return to the team after recovering from a long injury since December 2023. The Austria defender became a reserve player who was not used in two matches of the Spanish Super Cup.
Federico Valpert, Julie Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé should be available even though they trained separately during Tuesday’s training sessions. However, Eduardo Camavinga is believed to have appeared due to health problems.
Vinicius Junior, who earned a red card against Valencia in La Liga, can still play because his sanction only applies to domestic league competitions.
on the other hand, Celta had to play without their captain, Iago Aspas, who is still suffering from a muscular injury. Marcos Alonso is absent due to ankle problems that he acquired during the weekend’s match, before being banned to play in the next La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao.
Alfon Gonzalez, a hero of the second half of the Copa del Rey, was also confirmed absent after an injury against Rayo Vallecano.
However, Celta had some good news with Mihailo Ristic returning to training sessions after recovering from injury, and Javier Rodriguez set to feature after suffering a match ban.
ero, who has an impressive home record, is predicted to win this match. With the pressure to rise after a failure in the Spanish Super Cup, Ancelotti will be sure to reduce his full strength to keep his chances of lifting the Copa del Rey trophy alive.
Celta Vigo must play perfectly to create a surprise at Santiago Bernabeu, although history does not go their way.
ourtois; hazquez, Asensio, Rudiger, Mendy; Val again, Tchouyi; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappé
ar; Rodriguez, Dominguez, Star kut; Mingueza, Beltran, Moriba, Cervi; Duran, Bamba, Iglesias
Score prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Celta Vigo
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