Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad | Copa del Rey SF Leg 2 | OneFootball

180 minutes separate Real Madrid from the Copa del Rey title and 90 of them will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight.

After multiple rounds of direct knockout clashed until the quarterfinal stage, the Cup competition entered a new format for the final four with two-legged ties deciding the winner on aggregate.

Last month, the men in white took the lead over Real Sociedad in the Basque country and will look to book a berth in the finale with a deserving performance.

After all, their opponents are far from in good shape and have won only one game since their defeat to Real Madrid last month.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad.

A narrow lead

It has been a month since Real Madrid locked horns with Real Sociedad in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and they do have the lead on aggregate heading into the decisive second leg.

With the first leg being played away, Real Madrid’s lead is worth its weight in gold considering that they will have the crowd behind their back for tonight’s game.

Yet, it is important to note that their lead is only by a solitary goal courtesy of Endrick’s strike in the 19th minute. In fact, Los Blancos were lucky that La Real did not equalise on the night.

As they step onto the field today, finding the early goal to widen the gap and put the game to bed is critical. After all, Real Madrid were in a similar situation in the game against Atletico Madrid recently and failed to seal the game promptly, taking it to a shootout.

Carlo Ancelotti and co., thus, must not slack off. The one-goal lead is far from enough to take the team to the finale comfortably and all hands must be on deck to put it to bed.

Time to rotate the defence?

Set to start tonight? (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Carlo Ancelotti’s managerial style is quite different to many managers in the world in that he has a set of players he simply hesitates to touch from his starting lineup.

Given the defensive mess this season with injuries and uncertain fitness, the Italian coach has quite comfortably found his combination in Raul Asencio and Antonio Rudiger manning the centre-back position in recent weeks.

Fran Garcia has slowly moved up the pecking order as the default left-back while Lucas Vazquez is the go-to name at right-back on most occasions.

Heading into a hectic run of games, however, the manager must rotate and it is crucial that he does so without disturbing the balance. With a spot in the final at stake, the manager must thus decide if he will switch up the defence.

David Alaba is a strong candidate to come in and play at centre-back on the night, particularly after being rested in the last game. Will he replace Rudiger or Asencio if he enters the dynamics?

Ancelotti’s call, needless to say, must not be linked only to the weight of the name but the compatibility of the partnership.

Vinicius must step up

It must be said out loud at this point no matter how harsh it appears – Vinicius Jr.’s impact this season has not been at the level expected

Despite being the team’s best player last season, the Brazilian has simply struggled to carry himself with good quality this term and his performances have been heavily damaging to his image.

Kylian Mbappe’s rise in recent months, surprisingly, has coincided with his decline and the player is no longer performing remotely close to the level he is usually associated with.

For Real Madrid to charge towards all titles, however, they need Vinicius to return to his best. After being rested in the last game, the player is expected to start once again tonight and every game from here on will have the spotlight on the talisman.

Can he finally step up and prove his quality once more against La Real?