Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing in the Cop del Rey final first leg on Wednesday at the Mestalla and the match is streaming online and has Barca taking on RM in a Clasico match after the two played in La Liga and Lionel Messi will be front and center when it starts up at 3:30 pm ET, as Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the game with an injury.
Real Madrid comes into the match after a win against Almeria and that came after a loss against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, but the team was able to advance and now they play against Bayern Munich in the next round in the semis and they are the defending champions. Real Madrid has been playing well in La Liga and they are just three points back of Atletico Madrid as the teams battle to the finish and they are now just one point ahead of Barca heading into the final stretch of the schedule.
Real Madrid and Barca have been fighting all season and the match in El Clasico that saw Barcelona win was a blow and now Atletico will look to stay on top as the season comes to a close. Real Madrid has a tough schedule coming up with Bayern Munich mixed in and they have matchups with Valencia, Espanyol and Osasuna at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu down the stretch of the season. The team will be down leading scorer Ronaldo in the match on Wednesday and that will be a big hit for the team as they try to win against Barca.
Ronaldo has been leading the team offensively and he has been out of action since early April when he last played against Dortmund in that match and so far he has not been back in action since that first leg match. The club has been very coy about the injury and Ronaldo and that has led many to believe that the injury is serious and it could be a tear and that means he will miss both of the Copa matches as well as the next round of the Champions League. Ronaldo has been dealing with knee and thigh injuries and this comes after Messi was out of action for over a month earlier in the season for Barca.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that Ronaldo will not be in the match on Wednesday due to the injuries and that he will train with the team, but he will not be available to play. Ronaldo and his team could be at odds with Madrid over treatment and that could be why the injury rehab has taken longer than expected, but either way, Ronaldo's health is of paramount performance to the club and he said that despite Ronaldo not playing, the team will be prepared for Barca.
Barcelona comes into the game after losing against Granada and they also lost to Atletico Madrid before that and that is why the matchup with Real was so important earlier in the season. Both teams have 25 wins right now and they have another huge match with Atletico down the stretch and that will be at Camp Nou and could help decide the standings at the end of the season in La Liga after the Copa round matches.
Check here for the Real Madrid and Barcelona Copa Del Rey finals stream. and here for more on the matchup.
