Real Madrid will take on Celta Vigo in what should be an exciting Copa del Rey matchup on Wednesday.  Interesting enough, the Celta squad has not beaten the Madrid club in Galicia since May of 2001. 

Nonetheless, the Galicians did actually defeat Real Madrid in November 2006 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Celta, who transformed Claude Makalele into a premier infielder before selling him off to the Spanish giants, will attempt to bring that respective streak to a screeching halt.

When the defending La Liga champions make the trek to northern Spain for the very first leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie, it will be an opportunity for them to continue their decade of dominant play.

If Madrid can pull out a victory, it would do a lot more than sustain their record.  It will give skipper Jose Mourhino an opportunity to spell some of his key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Mesut Ozil and Xabi Alonso in the return leg on Dec. 18.

Resting their key players would serve Madrid well, as they'll also have a grueling match against Malaga the weekend after on Dec. 22.  Mourhino will more than likely put his strongest players on the field against Celta realizing that respective importance.

After pulling his hamstring two weeks ago, Fabio Coentrao did train with club this week.  However, the skipper is expected to insert Nacho at the left-back position, which he did in the Copa del Rey match versus Alcoyano.

While few bench players will get the start on Wednesday, Raphael Varane will probably fill in for either Pepe or Ramos.

CLICK HERE to watch Real Madrid face off against Celta de Vigo via free live stream.  Coverage of the football game is set to begin at 10 p.m. CET on Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Tags: International Soccer Copa del Rey