Real Madrid face Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie at the Reale Arena tonight. Los Blancos make the trip to the Basque Country without Kylian Mbappe, who is being rested after a dental issue along with the likes of Thibaut Courtois and Federico Valverde. But Carlo Ancelotti still boasts a strong squad with Jude Bellingham available despite his LaLiga suspension.
The second of these semi-final openers will have to be extraordinary to match the drama witnessed on Tuesday evening, when Barcelona and Atletico played out a thrilling 4-4 draw. Real Madrid head into this game having corrected a recent domestic slump with Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Girona, but are likely to face a stern test against a Sociedad team in fine form under Imanol Alguacil - especially in front of their own fans at Anoeta, having brushed aside Leganes at the weekend.
Madrid are 20-time winners of the Copa del Rey having last lifted the trophy in 2023, while Sociedad were successful in 2020 after beating rivals Athletic Club in the final. Follow Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid live below!. The headline team news from a Real Madrid perspective is Kylian Mbappe missing out after feeling bad overnight having had a tooth removed earlier this week.
![[Jude Bellingham in action for Real Madrid]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/02/26/18/03/judebellingham26022025a-jpg.jpeg?trim=0,0,262,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=640)
Carlo Ancelotti had originally said that the in-form French superstar would be available for the game, but he was omitted from the travelling squad in the end. Madrid - who face a tough trip to Betis in LaLiga at the weekend ahead of their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie at home to Atletico next week - are also resting Thibaut Courtois and Federico Valverde.
However, Jude Bellingham is available to play in the middle of his two-match LaLiga ban for swearing at a referee in the 1-1 draw with Osasuna. Defenders Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain long-term absentees. Plenty of injury issues for Real Sociedad to contend with at the moment amid such an important fixture run that also includes a trip to Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday and their Europa League last-16 tie against Manchester United, the first leg of which is at Anoeta next Thursday.
West Ham loanee Nayef Aguerd has been named in the squad despite being taken off in the first half of Sunday’s 3-0 home league win over Leganes. Igor Zubeldia and Sheraldo Becker are both available after each being sent off against Real Betis earlier this month, though Hamari Traore, Luka Sucic and Jon Pacheco are all out injured.
Becker, Aguerd and former Real Madrid starlet Takefusa Kubo are all suspended for the weekend, but can play in the Copa del Rey. TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s game is being shown live on Premier Sports 2, with coverage beginning at 8:25pm GMT. Live stream: Subscribers can also watch live online via the Premier Sports Player.
Good evening and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid. It is the second of this week’s Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg ties, with Barcelona and Atletico having played out an extraordinary 4-4 draw last night. Kick-off this evening at the Reale Arena (AKA Anoeta) is at 8:30pm GMT and 9:30pm CET, so stay tuned for all the team news - including the latest on Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham - and live updates.
