Real Zaragoza vs Real Madrid Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

Real Madrid continue their hunt for a 20th Copa del Rey crown as they take on second-tier Real Zaragoza on Wednesday night.

Goals from Gareth Bale and Brahim Diaz along with a Juan Mateo own goal helped Los Blancos past a resolute Unionistas side in the previous round, setting up this last 16 fixture with Los Maños.

Six-time winners Zaragoza overcame La Liga opposition in the previous round – beating Mallorca 3-1 – and their current form would suggest that they’re certainly capable of causing an upset in this one.

Nevertheless, the task of beating Zinedine Zidane’s men is rather difficult one, considering just one of their last 19 opponents have failed to do so, with Madrid’s fantastic run helping them leapfrog Barcelona at the top of La Liga at the weekend.

Where to Watch on TV

When Is Kick Off?	Wednesday 29 January
What Time Is Kick Off?	20:00 (BST)
Where Is it Played?	La Romareda
TV Channel/Live Stream	La Liga TV
Referee	Jose Luis Gonzalez

Team News

Victor Fernandez has no fresh injury concerns after his side’s slender 1-0 win over Numancia at the weekend. Long-term absentees Alberto Zapater and Raphael Dwamena remain out while former Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa is also a doubt.

With the Madrid Derby on the horizon, there’s no doubt Zidane will be looking to rotate his side for Wednesday night’s clash. Therefore, you can expect the Frenchman to select a similar starting XI to the one that overcame Unionistas in the previous round.

Real, however, will likely be without Bale due to the Welshman picking up an ankle injury in the round of 32 tie.

Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard remain out – with the latter set for a return soon.

Predicted Lineups

Zaragoza	Alvarez; Vigaray, Atienza, Guitian, Nieto; Soro, Guti, Eguaras, Blanco; Suarez, Puado.
Real Madrid	Areola; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Marcelo; Valverde, Kroos, James; Diaz, Jovic, Vinicius.

Head to Head Record

This will be 39th meeting between these two sides, with Zaragoza searching for just their eighth win over Los Blancos in their history.

This will also be the first fixture between the pair since Los Maños’ relegation from the top-flight at the end of the 2012/13 season, with Wednesday’s visitors currently on a four-game unbeaten streak against the second-tier outfit.

Recent Form

The hosts will be coming into this one full of confidence after enjoying a brilliant start the new year.

Zaragoza have won all five of their games in 2020, including a 3-1 upset of La Liga side Mallorca in the previous round of this competition. Their good run of form has seen them establish themselves as genuine title contenders in the Segunda Division – they’re currently just six points off Cadiz at the top despite being fourth in the table.

The form of striker Luis Suarez (yeah, they wish), a 22-year-old Colombian on loan from Watford, has been key to their success this season. Suarez has 14 goals in 23 league appearances this season and is second to Girona’s goal machine Cristhian Stuani in the Segunda Division’s goalscoring charts.

As for Real, well, it’s fair to say they’re on a half-decent run at the moment.

Zidane’s men haven’t tasted defeat since October and look set to regain their La Liga crown come May, potentially adding to their victory in the Supercopa de España earlier this month. Even when they aren’t firing on all cylinders – see last two victories – this Real side always seem to pull it out the bag.

Nevertheless, here’s how the two sides have fared in their last five outings.

Zaragoza	Real Madrid
Zaragoza 1-0 Numancia (25/01)	Vallodalid 0-1 Real Madrid (26/01)
Zaragoza 3-1 Mallorca (21/01)	Unionistas 1-3 Real Madrid (22/01)
Las Palmas 0-1 Zaragoza (14/01)	Real Madrid 2-1 Sevilla (18/01)
Gimnastic 1-3 Zaragoza (11/01)	Real Madrid 0-0 (4-1p) Atletico (12/01)
Zaragoza 2-0 Sporting Gijon (07/01)	Valencia 1-3 Real Madrid (08/01)

Prediction

With Zidane taking a rather laid back approach to this competition, Los Blancos should definitely be on upset alert in this one.

Despite being a tier below, Zaragoza are a side in-form and they’ll certainly make it tough for the La Liga table-toppers on Wednesday night at a ground where they’ve had a lot of success this season – losing just three of their 14 home matches thus far.

But with Real still possessing star quality in what will likely be a heavily rotated side, they should sneak past Zaragoza and advance to the last eight. They just don’t lose.

Prediction: Real Zaragoza 1-2 Real Madrid

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