Confirmed Starting Lineup For Real Madrid vs Albacete In The Copa Del Rey

Real Madrid will face Albacete of La Liga 2 in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. The game is being played on the road at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte, with Alvaro Arbeloa taking charge of his first game since Xabi Alonso left the club.

Los Blancos are set to be without 11 of their first-team players. Klian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Antonio Rudiger, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Thibaut Courtois have all been given a rest with Levante in the league this coming weekend. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, and Ferland Mendy are all injured.

As expected, Andriy Lunin starts in goal as he usually does in the Copa del Rey. In defense, Raul Asencio and Dean Huijsen start at center-back. David Jimenez starts at right-back, with many expecting Dani Carvajal to come back into the side. Fran Garcia starts at left-back.

🏟️ Estadio Carlos Belmonte 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/519TlHYwNX
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 14, 2026

With many of the first-team midfielders back in Madrid, Arbeloa hands a start to Fede Valverde, who captains the team. Arda Guler also starts, as does youth player Jorge Cestero, who came on late in the previous round to make his senior debut.

The front three positions still look strong. Franco Masnatuono starts for the first time since the Round of 32 Copa del Rey game on December 17. Gonzalo Garcia continues up top alongside Vinicius Jr. from the left.