Real Madrid starts a new trip on Saturday night. In their first game of this season’s Copa del Rey, they go to Aranda de Duero to play fourth-tier team Arandina. They won this tournament last year.

Once again, the current winners are one of the clear favorites to win the title this year. History, on the other hand, shows that the Spanish Cup is not as simple as it seems on paper.

One remembers Real Madrid’s Round of 32 match against Cacereno at Principe Felipe last season. That match was tough because the other team wasn’t as good, and Real Madrid was almost eliminated.

So, Carlo Ancelotti’s team needs to be alert later today because they are playing a team that has nothing to lose and a lot to gain by playing against Real Madrid. Argentina won’t be scared, so Los Blancos needs to be careful.

Some of Galacticos’ best players won’t be able to play in the Copa del Rey match. Toni Kroos can’t play because he hurt his ankle, and Lucas Vazquez can’t either because he’s been hurt for a long time.

Because of the Spanish Super Cup, Vinicius Jr. and Aurelien Tchouameni were not used in this game. Instead, a lot of youth players were called up to fill their spots. The Copa del Rey, on the other hand, has a rule that at all times, at least seven first-team players must be on the ground.

Ancelotti has some limitations on the players he can choose from. Here are some ways he could play his cards against Arandina.

Starting Points

Carlo Ancelotti stated in his press conference before the game that Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in goal against Arandina, even though Andriy Lunin has been playing well lately.

There will be big changes to the defense line. This is the manager’s last chance to rest important players for a while, so Antonio Rudiger is likely to start on the bench. Nacho Fernandez and Alvaro Carillo will play center back.

Fran Garcia will still start at left back, but Castilla star Vinicius Tobias should start in place of Daniel Carvajal for the cup game.

Eduardo Camavinga has returned to the team after a long absence, and he will likely start right away tomorrow. Because Kroos and Tchouameni aren’t available, he will play as the center with Federico Valverde.

The night of the game, Arda Guler is likely to make his debut, starting wide on the right side of midfield. He was put in place to provide width on the side, and he will probably push higher in attack to work with and switch places with the lively forwards.

Dani Ceballos, on the other hand, will start in the middle on the left side. Unlike Guler, he is supposed to drop in the middle during the buildup, with Garcia doing most of the work to provide depth.

And since Rodrygo is expected to be resting, Vinicius Jr. is not on the team, so Brahim Diaz and Joselu should start up front. This is a great chance for the two to show what they can do and ask for regular parts.

Different kinds of

Antonio Rudiger is not someone who can be kept out of the action for long, even if he starts on the bench. The German star is likely to come on in the second half, but it will depend on how the game goes.

Rodrygo Goes and Daniel Carvajal will also start on the bench but could come on in the second half depending on how the team is doing.

Jude Bellingham, a star player for Real Madrid, is also set to sit out against Arandina. Because he can score important goals, he will almost certainly have a part at some point.

When it comes to school stars, Ancelotti is expected to choose Alvaro Rodriguez and Nico Paz.