Real Madrid are set to commence their Copa del Rey title defence here in the Round of 32, and the Copa del Rey 2024 odds like their chances of repeating this season.
Los Blancos are up against Tercera División side Arandina on Saturday, a few days after they take on Mallorca in their next La Liga contest later.
Elsewhere, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid also open their campaigns against Barbastro and Lugo, respectively. And after eliminating Orihuela in the second round last month, Girona are set to take on Elche, who also took care of business against Linares Deportivo in the previous round.
These are some of the Round of 32 matches to look out for, and you can learn more about them in detail as SBOTOP previews them one by one.
Arandina vs Real Madrid
Arandina had to fight through Real Murcia and even scored an upset against Cadiz in the previous two rounds, and their prize is a date against Real Madrid, which is quite unfortunate.
Perhaps the only consolation for the Tercera División side is that they come into this game unbeaten in their last five league games, so they’re on top of their group, although they only managed to win once.
Arandina can hurt Real Madrid to a certain degree because Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t really have the luxury to fully rotate his defence since they technically only have one centre-back available after Nacho was given a red card against Alaves and Eder Militao and David Alaba have sustained knee injuries.
But as far as the other positions on the pitch, Real Madrid have the edge, especially in the middle of the park. Even if Jude Bellingham gets the night off for this game, Carlo Ancelotti still has the likes of Fede Valverde, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Dani Ceballos, so they shouldn’t skip a beat.
Elche vs Girona
This Round of 32 tilt between Elche and Girona is probably the closest matchup among the four games here in this preview, as Elche have been in La Liga regularly compared to Arandina, Barbastro, and Lugo.
Elche’s 12th place standing in the Segunda Division leaves a lot to be desired, but they have a couple of players who can give Girona problems, such as their top scorers Oscar Plano (seven goals) and Tete Morente (three goals).
As for Girona, well, much has already been said about them being the surprise package in La Liga this season, and they still are today. Michel’s side is level with Real Madrid at the top of the standings because they haven’t lost a single match in all competitions since October.
Artem Dovbyk, Cristhian Stuani, Savio, and Yangel Herrera should be able to put up new Copa del Rey 2024 highlights this weekend because they’re the team’s leading scorers, combining for 25 goals and 11 assists so far this term.
Barbastro vs Barcelona
Barcelona have been either Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde this season, and the hope for Barbastro is that they’ll catch the Blaugrana on yet another off-night on Sunday.
Xavi’s men are coming off a club friendly loss against Club America three days before Christmas, but they haven’t played a game since then, so their batteries are recharged.
There’s a real possibility that Xavi will deploy a lineup that’s similar to the Club America loss due to their busy schedule, which is filled by their bright youngsters like Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu.
Barbastro, on the other hand, will be flanked by their danger men up front, Franc Carbonell, Soule, and Adria De Mesa Garrido.
Lugo vs Atletico Madrid
After visiting Girona tomorrow, Lugo are next on Atletico Madrid’s four-game road trip.
Atletico Madrid are currently third in La Liga, and they’ve had a mixed bag of results lately, winning three, losing one, and drawing one in their last five games across all competitions.
Similar to Real Madrid, Atleti are compromised at the back, as centre-backs Stefan Savic and Caglar Soyuncu will have to serve their domestic suspensions after they were sent off against Getafe and Sevilla, respectively. However, they can make up for it with their robust midfield and frontline.
Antoine Griezmann is on fire right now for Los Rojiblancos, but we don’t expect him to go hard in this game. Instead, we might see Memphis Depay lead up front, which he hasn’t done in a while.
Lugo are not in their best shape since they have been winless in their last three games, including a 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo’s B team earlier today.
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