Real Madrid visit Atletico de Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey clash on Wednesday evening in what is set to be another mouth-watering tie between the two rivals.
The headline attraction at the Vicente Calderon will be the return of Fernando Torres, who rejoined Los Rojiblancos last week on an 18-month loan deal from AC Milan. The 30-year-old forward left the club seven and a half years ago to sign for Liverpool, but he has remained a cult hero at the club.
Los Blancos have already been beaten by Diego Simeone’s men in the league this season and also lost the Spanish Supercopa against them. Carlo Ancelotti’s men saw off their city rivals on route to winning the Copa del Rey last season, and also famously defeated them 4-1 in the final of the Champions League in May.
Real will be keen to get back on track after losing to Valencia at the weekend. The 2-1 reverse saw an end to the 22-game winning run that started back in September. Both managers should have near complete squads to choose from. James Rodriguez will be hoping to start having made the bench at the weekend. Luka Modric remains a long-term absentee, while the hosts will be missing MIranda who has a hamstring injury.
Probable line-ups:
Atletico de Madrid: Oblak; Gamez, Jimenez, Godin, Juanfran; Saul, Mario, Gabi; Garcia, Torres, Griezmann.
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Bale, Khedira, Kroos, Isco; Benzema, Cristiano.
