TEAM NEWS: Cristiano Ronaldo on bench for Real Madrid versus Deportivo

Feb 23, 2013 6:07:00 PM

The Portuguese receives a rare rest as Blancos boss Jose Mourinho rotates his squad with Tuesday's Copa del Rey Clasico at Camp Nou very much in mind

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has opted to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for his side's la Liga trip to the Riazor to face Deportivo on Saturday evening.

Los Blancos have a vital match on the horizon as they face Barcelona in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie on Tuesday, and the Portuguese coach has has rotated his starting XI for the league clash as a result.

Diego Lopez continues in goal due to the absence of Iker Casillas. His defence will include the returning Marcelo, as well as Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe, and Ricardo Carvalho. Luka Modric features in the middle of the park alongside Michael Essien.

With Ronaldo on the bench, Mourinho has opted for Jose Callejon, Kaka, and Angel Di Maria to support Gonzalo Higuain in attack.

Deportivo, meanwhile, have been boosted by the return of left-back Ayoze, who makes his first start since December.

Coach Fernando Vazquez will be looking for the likes of Pizzi, Riki, Bruno Gama, and Juan Valeron to flourish as the front four for Depor.

Deportivo (4-2-3-1): Aranzubia; Silvio, Kaka, Marchena, Ayoze; Abel Aguilar, Assuncao; Gama, Pizzi, Valeron; Riki.

Subs: Oliveira, Dominguez, Bergantinos, Vazquez, Camunas, Salomao, Lux.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Diego Lopez; Arbeloa, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo; Essien, Modric; Di Maria, Kaka, Callejon; Higuain.

Subs: Adan, Coentrao, Albiol, Khedira, Ozil, Ronaldo, Morata.

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Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

4:59 PM BST

The injury-enforced absence of Dortmund’s Bayern-bound playmaker, Gotze, is of course the principal talking point in terms of team news. The 20-year-old’s unavailability is clearly a hammer blow for die Schwarzgelben, but, as team-mate Kevin Grosskreutz pointed out this week, Dortmund destroyed Bayern in last year’s DFB Pokal final without Gotze.

4:54 PM BST

But what do the fans think? Well, yesterday Goal’s roving reporter Kris Voakes went along to the Uefa Champions Festival, which is being staged at the Olympic Park in Stretford, and he spoke with supporters from both sides.

Johannes, Munich, told Goal: "We haven't lost to Dortmund this season, and though we lost two finals [in 2010 and 2012], we are hoping the third time is a charm.

"Last year the English stole our trophy," interrupted his friend Benjamin, "but we are going to take in back to Munich where it belongs."

But Dortmund fan Nicolas says the loss of Mario Gotze to injury is not too much of a concern for Jurgen Klopp's side: “We have Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski, and yes, we will be fine without Gotze. We will win 2-0.”

4:44 PM BST

However, Dortmund simply cannot be discounted. They relish the role of underdogs and are not in the least bit afraid of their illustrious rivals, having now gone six Bundesliga games without defeat against die Roten. The last time these two met in a final, in last season’s DFB Pokal, Dortmund ran out 5-2 winners. As coach Jurgen Klopp pointed out this week: “We’re not the best team in the world, but we can beat the best team in the world."

4:43 PM BST

Bayern, of course, start as overwhelming favourites to prevail this evening, and understandably so. Not only did they mercilessly batter Barcelona into a shockingly tame capitulation at Camp Nou, they are also coming off the back of a record-breaking Bundesliga campaign which they finished a staggering 25 points clear of runners-up Dortmund, whom they are unbeaten against in four meetings this season.

4:40 PM BST

So, what do you think? Who will prevail this evening? Are Bayern going to banish the memory of last year’s devastating and inexplicable loss to Chelsea at the Allianz Arena? Or are Dortmund going to defy the odds once again and go from the brink of bankruptcy to Champions League winners in just eight years? Get in touch via Facebook and Twitter and I’ll be sure to post the best comments in here.

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