Real Madrid have not won the Copa del Rey since 2014 but Los Blancos have a great opportunity to end the nine-year wait when they meet Osasuna in Seville on Saturday.

The Copa del Rey has been a competition Real have struggled to get to grips with in recent years, but with the La Liga title out of their reach this season, Carlo Ancelotti's side have upped their game in the competition. 

Real brushed aside La Liga champions-in-waiting Barcelona 4-1 on aggregate in their Copa del Rey semi-final, having earlier overcome Cacereno, Villarreal and fierce rivals Atletico. 

Ancelotti's men may not have been expecting to face Osasuna, who sit ninth in La Liga, in the final but the minnows have also been well-deserving of their place. 

Unlike Real, Los Rojillos have had to come through six rounds of the competition to make the final, beating Real Betis, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao en route. 

Heavyweights Real are 1/3 to win in 90 minutes and 1/7 to lift the trophy, with Osasuna 9/2 to be crowned champions and 17/2 to do so in regulation time. 

The underdogs were runners-up to Real Betis in the Copa del Rey in 2005 and are hoping to go one better and claim a first major piece of silverware.

Real's class should eventually tell

The first leg of Real Madrid's crunch Champions League semi-final with Manchester City on Tuesday may take precedence, but Ancelotti will want his allies to welcome the Citizens to the Bernabeu with some silverware under their belts. 

Real trail Barcelona by 14 points in the La Liga title race, so this is their only chance of claiming a domestic trophy, and they will be expected to have a class edge on their lesser-ranked opponents. 

Ending a nine-year wait for the Copa del Rey trophy should be some extra motivation and, having rested star men Karim Benzema and Vinicus Junior in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad, Osasuna may be fearing the worst if those two are fresh. 

Osasuna must fear Benzema goals 

Benzema netted a hat-trick on his last start, in the 4-2 win at home to Almeria, which took his tally to the season to 29 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions. 

The French 35-year-old is ageing like a fine wine and, having scored hat-tricks in three of his last eight games, he is 4/7 to score at any time, 12/5 for two or more and 17/2 for another haul of three.

Real sit six places and 22 points above Osasuna in the La Liga standings and they were 2-0 winners on their trip to Estadio El Sadar in February. 

Benzema was missing for that win and things were level until Federico Valverde broke the deadlock on 78 minutes, which highlights how stubborn opponents Osasuna can be. 

Ten-man Osasuna also clinched a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in October, a game in which Benzema squandered a late penalty, so while Real should eventually show their mettle, it is unlikely to be a walk in the park. 

Real could eventually triumph in a low-scoring contest with Ancelotti's troops 11/4 to win and for there to be under 2.5 goals.

Plucky underdogs can put up a fight

Jagoba Arrasate's Osasuna can be plucky opponents and, having finished 10th in La Liga last season, they could yet go even better this time around. 

Their success this season has largely been down to excellent organisation and their defensive qualities as they have managed only 29 goals in 33 league games which, given they sit ninth, is the joint third-worst attack in Spain's top tier. 

But with only 35 goals conceded, that shows Osasuna are renowned for frustrating opponents and that was further highlighted in their 1-0 loss to Barcelona on Tuesday. 

Osasuna have conceded more than twice only once in all competitions this season, so it would be somewhat of a surprise were Real to run riot. 

Their lack of firepower is a problem, though, with Argentine forward Chimy Avila their leading scorer this season with only eight goals in 31 appearances in all competitions. 

That means Real, who have kept six clean sheets in their last 10 matches, could well win to nil, which is available at 6/5.

bet365 News Team

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