Real Madrid Barcelona 2014
Lionel Messi and Barcelona hope to take down Real Madrid in the 2013-2014 Copa del Rey final. Reuters

Even though Real Madrid will enter the 2013-2014 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona without the services of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo, the club is still confident in their ability to take down a Barca squad that has already defeated them twice in La Liga competition. Looking forward to the opportunity a week before the club enters the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Bayern Munich, Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti said this week that the game plan remains the same despite the loss of Ronaldo because of the overall level of talent present on his roster.

“I knew that Cristiano was not going to play this very same morning,” Ancelotti said of Ronaldo, who has missed Real Madrid's previous two matches with continued knee and thigh issues. “We have a lot of players and confidence to do well. Without Ronaldo we lose a very important player, but we are now more motivated. He will train by himself tomorrow morning and then travel to Valencia to watch the game. The game plan is the same with or without Cristiano. He did not rest before because he didn't need to.”

While many believe Real Madrid – who currently sit second in La Liga with 79 points – will be looking to change their style of play to make up for the absence of the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award winner, Ancelotti remains firm when he says that his club will continue to play the way they have all season. Not wanting his side to focus solely on the dynamic play of Barca's Lionel Messi but remaining fixated on the plan at hand, the 54-year-old coach trusts his players' ability to control a majority of the possession.

“We are not planning the match to block Barcelona but to play it with our own style and personality,” he said. “Barcelona are still attacking well and we need to have most of the possession tomorrow. To work as a whole is our main goal. That's what we train for. We are not planning any man-marking on Leo Messi. The stronger we are as a team, the better we are. We must all contribute to the team, to improve.”

Like Real Madrid, Barcelona continue to deal with their own slew of injuries. Awaiting the results of fitness tests ahead of Wednesday's final, Carles Puyol (knee injury), Gerard Pique (hip) and Marc Bartra (hamstring) are all hopeful they'll be ready to play come match time but coach Gerardo Martino is not ready to make any promises.

“We have chances with the three players to be able to count on some of them,” Martino said Tuesday. “They responded well at training on Tuesday morning, but we will wait until tomorrow before deciding. If the decision is that Puyol plays, it will be a big lift for the team and for his teammates. From what I have seen at training today, Bartra is much better, but no player will play unless he is fit and ready.”

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO

DATE: Wednesday, April 16

TIME: 3:30pm, ET

TV COVERAGE: ESPN / ESPN Deportes

LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE

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