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Real Madrid will be missing four first-team players for Thursday’s Copa del Rey match against Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid to miss 4 major players against Atletico Madrid

Los Blancos will enter the last-16 match at Wanda Metropolitano after defeating Barcelona 4-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final, extending their winning streak to seven games in all competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side will now aim to advance in the Copa del Rey at the expense of their bitter rivals before returning to La Liga, where they will host Almeria this weekend.

Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba are still out of action for Real Madrid due to long-term ACL injuries to all three.

Concurrently, Lucas Vazquez is not playing due to a hamstring injury. However, Ancelotti mentioned in his press conference that the Spaniard “will be back on Friday,” suggesting that he might play against Almeria again.

“The team is fine.” Tomorrow is another very complicated game because Atletico is a very difficult opponent, and we expect an even more complicated game because they are playing at home and doing very well,” Real Madrid’s head coach said on Wednesday.

Rodrygo’s participation in Wednesday’s Madrid derby was called into question, but the Brazil international is now cleared to play.

“Rodrygo needed one more day of low intensity, but he’s prepared for tomorrow. Rodrygo is back to his best form, and I believe he is doing well,” Ancelotti said.

“The key to our successful run is difficult to pinpoint because we’ve suffered numerous injuries but have held our own. The training intensity is high, which allows us to maintain excellent physical condition.”

Real Madrid to face Atletico Madrid | Copa del Rey

Ancelotti also paid tribute to Vinicius Junior, who scored a hat-trick in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona.

“Vinicius is back to his best. He scored differently in the Clasico, and he’s learning to play more inside, which makes him more dangerous because he’s less predictable,” the Italian said.

‘He gets along very well with Rodrygo. I preferred what he said over the three goals.”

Ancelotti also stated that he would ‘take into account tiredness’ when naming his starting lineup on Thursday, and it is possible that Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga will be introduced into the midfield, with Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni being rested.