Sports
Confirmed line-ups for Copa del Rey
Real Madrid travel to Talavera in the Copa del Rey tonight, a team two divisions below them.
Los Blancos have had a shaky spell under head coach Xabi Alonso, but can redeem themselves by lifting silverware either domestically or in Europe.
The Spaniard is believed to be on thin ice with the Madrid board, so any slip-up here would surely be unforgivable.
You can get all the team news for the game here, as well as live commentary.
Talavera team news
Talavera starting XI: To follow
Talavera starting XI: To follow
Real Madrid team news
Real Madrid starting XI: Lunin, Jimenez, Hujsen, Carreras, Garcia, Mastantuono, Guler, Ceballos, Gonzalo, Endrick, Mbappe
Real Madrid substitutes: Gonzalez, Navarro, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Tchouameni, Cestero, Martinez, Valdepenas, Thiago
How to watch Talavera v Madrid: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.
A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.
Talavera v Real Madrid stats
- Sandroni has won both of his home matches since being appointed, including a 2-1 comeback victory on Sunday against a Merida side who had been 12 points above Talavera
- Talavera’s other match in this season’s Copa del Rey was a 4-1 win at fourth-tier Rayo Majadahonda on October 28
- Forward Gonzalo Di Renzo scored twice in that game as part of a run of four goals and an assist in the Argentinian’s first 10 appearances of the campaign, although he has not been directly involved in a goal since
- Alongside Di Renzo, defender David Cuenca is Talavera’s top scorer this season on three goals
- The minnows have reached this stage of the competition once before, losing after extra time to Cartagena – also in the third tier at the time – in 2017/18
- With 20 titles, Madrid are the third-most successful team in Copa del Rey history behind Athletic Club (24) and Barcelona (32)
- They have lost the most finals (21), ahead of Athletic Club (16) and Barca (11)
- The Copa del Rey was the only competition Alonso won twice during his time in Madrid’s midfield between 2009 and 2014, playing throughout their wins over Barcelona in the 2011 and 2014 finals
- Madrid have won away to lower-league opponents in the competition in four successive seasons since losing after extra time at third-tier Alcoyano at this stage in 2020/21, beating fourth-tier teams on each occasion
- Los Blancos have the most points and points per game away in this season’s Liga (W6 D3 L1) and have won two and lost one of their matches on the road in the 2025/26 Champions League.
