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Mbappe, Bellingham out of Copa del Rey quarters

 Real Madrid will be without forward Kylian Mbappe and midfielder Jude Bellingham for today’s Copa del Rey quarter-final at Leganes, manager Carlo Ancelotti said on the eve of the match.

The duo join midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, defend­ers David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger as well as other long-term defensive absentees Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal on the sidelines.

France captain Mbappe, 26, has scored 21 goals in 33 appearances across all com­petitions since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu from French champions Paris St Germain on a free transfer in June, while 21-year-old England interna­tional Bellingham has netted 10 times in 30 matches.

Madrid, who top the LaLiga standings with 49 points from 22 matches, one point ahead of second-placed Atletico Ma­drid, are set for a tough set of fixtures in coming days as Ance­lotti tries to navigate through the defensive injury crisis.

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Their visit to Leganes will be followed by a league derby against Atletico at home on Saturday and a trip to Man­chester City in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs on Feb. 11.

“What I have to think about is how to deal with the emer­gency we have. We had it last year. We have to manage it well. We managed it well last year. The young players will be able to show their quality. We are going to rely on (20-year-old defender) Jacobo (Ramon),” Ancelotti said.

While Madrid did not sign any new players in the January transfer window, which closed on Monday, their Champions League rivals City have splashed over 180 million pounds ($223 million) on new arrivals includ­ing Spanish midfielder Nico and Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush.

“I have to think about the game against City with these players they have signed,” Ance­lotti said.

“They are always competitive. But we have other things to think about at the moment.”

—Reuters

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