Boost for Barcelona as key Real Madrid forward set for the bench in Copa del Rey final | OneFootball

It is the clash of titans tonight as FC Barcelona lock horns with Real Madrid in the finals of the Copa del Rey at Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville.

The Catalan heavyweights have already secured two very impressive victories over their bitter rivals this season – once even in the Spanish Super Cup final in January this year.

The target tonight will be to complete a hat-trick of wins over Carlo Ancelotti’s men and lift the second trophy of the season.

No Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid

Leading up to the contest later tonight, Barcelona have been handed a major boost as Real Madrid are likely to bench one of their most important players.

Indeed, as per Radio MARCA, Kylian Mbappe will not be part of the starting lineup for Los Blancos tonight in Seville and will feature as a substitute.

Mbappe unlikely to start vs Barcelona. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

The 26-year-old French superstar had been out with an ankle sprain for over a week now and had missed the past couple of matches.

However, he returned to group training earlier this week and was included in the squad for the cup finals in Seville, sparking hopes that the forward will be ready to start tonight.

But as it turns out, Mbappe has still not fully recovered from his ankle problem and as such his involvement tonight against Barcelona from the start is very unlikely.

It would mean that Real Madrid will most likely line up with the attacking duo of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo, both of whom have been highly inconsistent this season.

The absence of Mbappe from the starting XI, who has been Real Madrid’s leading goalscorer this season, will come as a boost for Barcelona and should hand them an advantage heading into the cup final.