After a sumptuous 7-1 win in the first leg, Real Madrid takes on Cultural Leonesa on the second leg of the Copa Del Rey at Santiago Bernabau on Wednesday.
With a huge advantage against Leonesa, Real Madrid will want to win this tie and progress to the next rounds of the competition. Zinedine Zidane’s men are in superb form right now as they remain unbeaten in last 31 matches in all competitions.
It’s MATCHDAY! ?
? @CyDLeonesa ? Santiago Bernabéu ? 19:00 CET ? Copa del Rey (Round of 32, 2nd leg)
PREVIEW: https://t.co/zmxuzD3Xjh pic.twitter.com/wBeiPUrPbr
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) November 30, 2016
Cultural Leonesa currently plays in the Segunda Division B, the third tier of Spanish football, where they are the league leaders with 42 points. Their single loss this season was against Real Madrid in the first leg of this tie. Otherwise, no team has been able to defeat them.
Team News: Real Madrid
With progress to the last 16 nearly assured, Zinedine Zidane may rest many players for El Clasico.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, and Keylor Navas are very likely be rested in this home tie against Leonesa.
Zidane will be cautious about injuries of his key players. Hence, Marcelo, Luka Modric, and Isco may be replaced by some of the Real Madrid’s youth team players.
Casemiro has recovered from his injury, and he was benched in the 2-1 win against Sporting Gijon on last weekend. He probably will be given some match time in this match in order to prepare him for the upcoming clash with Barcelona.
Many changes are expected in this match for Real Madrid. Fringe players like Mariano Diaz, Fabio Coentrao, Odengaard, and Asensio will be in the starting lineup against Leonesa.
Real Madrid: Predicted Line-up (4-2-3-1)
Casilla – Coentrao, Nacho, Pepe, Danilo – Casemiro, Kovacic – James Rodriguez, Asensio, Odengaard- Mariano
Team News: Cultural Leonesa
Manager Ruben De La Barrera will have plenty of options to choose from as none of his players are injured. Overturning the 7-1 defeat will be enormously hard for Leonesa’s players at the Santiago Bernebau. However, they will try to take advantage of Real Madrid’s less experienced side.
Alex Gallar and Benja will be the two key players for Leonesa, who will lead the attack from the front. Ruben De La Barrera is likely field his strongest squad in this match in order to avoid an another rout.
Cultural Leonesa: Predicted Line-up (4-3-3)
Vallejo – Fornies, Zuiverloon, Gonzalez – Bastos – Ortiz, Jorge, Suarez – Benja, Gallar, Colinas
Real Madrid vs. Cultural Leonesa: Head-to-Head
Total games: 1 Real Madrid wins: 1 Cultural Leonesa wins: 0 Draws: 0
Real Madrid vs. Cultural Leonesa: Prediction
Real Madrid will go into this match with a much-changed side than their recent games. However, the sheer quality of Madrid’s players should grant them an easy victory. With a progress to the last 16 of Copa Del Rey almost assured, a loss by a small margin will do no harm to Real.
??? #RMCopa The players have met up and will rest at #RMCity ahead of tonight’s match against @CyDLeonesa ! #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/thymaZnWNP
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) November 30, 2016
A huge challenge lies ahead of Leonesa as they have to overcome their 7-1 defeat in this match. Their only motive will be to give Real a game at the Santiago Bernabau, and deliver their fans something to cheer about.
Looking at strength of Real Madrid’s players, they will try to dominate the match and ensure their team an easy victory. Los Blancos are top favorites to win this match.
Final Predicted Score. Real Madrid 4-1 Cultural Leonesa
Real Madrid vs. Cultural Leonesa: Betting Tips and Odds
- Real Madrid win: 1/12
- A draw: 9/1
- Cultural Leonesa win: 16/1
- Under 2.5 goals: 7/2
- Over 2.5 goals: 1/6
- Both teams score: evens
- Both teams fail to score: 8/11
The odds were provided by Paddypower .
Key Stats to consider
- Real Madrid is 31 games unbeaten in all competitive matches, dating back to their 2-0 loss at Wolfsburg in the first leg of last season’s Champions League.
- The Whites won 7-1 against Leonesa on the first leg of Copa Del Rey, which is the only match played between these teams so far.
- Cultural Leonesa hasn’t lost a single match in the second division.
- Leonesa is currently the league leader with 42 points.
- Leonesa’s only lost this season came against Real Madrid.
The Real Madrid vs. Leonesa stats were provided by Soccerway .
Real Madrid vs. Cultural Leonesa: Live Stream
The match can be streamed live online by clicking at this link . The link will be updated just before kick-off.
[Featured Image by Denis Doyle/Getty Images]
