Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will be without five players for Thursday's Copa del Rey last-16 tie with Villarreal at La Ceramica.

Lucas Vazquez is unlikely to be back until February as he nurses a sprained ankle, while Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba were unavailable for the Supercopa de Espana with calf injuries.

The pair stayed in Madrid in order to continue their rehabilitations, and Ancelotti has now ruled them out for Thursday, where Dani Carvajal (adductor) and Luka Modric (rested) will also be missing.

Andriy Lunin started in the last-32 win over Cacereno, but Ancelotti has confirmed that Thibaut Courtois will start this one, while Alvaro Odriozola could enjoy a rare start out wide alongside Ferland Mendy.

Even though Alaba is still absent, Ancelotti could still opt to alter the backline with the inclusion of Nacho Fernandez, who may link up with Eder Militao if Antonio Rudiger is in need of a rest.

Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga will seemingly hold their spots in the engine room, but Dani Ceballos is a candidate to come in for Modric - a change that was made with 65 minutes gone in the Supercopa de Espana final with Barcelona.

Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior should still expect to start up front given the calibre of opposition, but Rodrygo's fresh legs may be preferred over Federico Valverde, while Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard will also pine for minutes.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Courtois; Odriozola, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Kroos, Camavinga, Ceballos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr body check tags ::