Kylian Mbappe only makes the bench for Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final vs Barcelona (NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Kylian Mbappe starts on the bench for Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Saturday night.
The French striker suffered an ankle injury during Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
Mbappe was subsequently left out of the matchday squad for Madrid’s win against Athletic Bilbao last Sunday, as well as the victory away to Getafe on Wednesday.
And he is only fit enough to make the bench for Madrid’s final against Barcelona.
‘Mbappe is hurting because of his injury, because he cannot help the team — he’s doing everything he can to be ready for Saturday,’ Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona team news
Real Madrid: Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Tchouameni, Ceballos, Valverde, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Lunin, Fran Gonzalez; Alaba, Vallejo, Fran Garcia, Modric, Arda, Endrick, Brahim, Mbappe
Barcelona: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Gerard Martin; Pedri, De Jong, Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Raphina, Ferran.
Subs: Ter Stegen, Inaki Pena; Araujo, Eric García, Hector Fort, Gavi, Fermin, Pablo Torre, Ansu Fati and Pau Víctor
With Mbappe on the bench, Ancelotti has opted to play a two-man attack of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior with Jude Bellingham just behind the Brazilian duo.
For Barcelona, Wojciech Szczesny continues in goal but Marc-Andre ter Stegen returns to the squad for the first time since September following his knee injury.
The 32-year-old was expected to miss the rest of the season but has recovered ahead of schedule.
In attack, Robert Lewandowski is still sidelined with a hamstring injury and misses the game.
Lamine Yamal, Raphina and Ferran Torres make up Barcelona’s attacking trio.
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