Attention is slowly turning from the weekend’s La Liga fall out to the midweek Copa del Rey semi-final first leg fixtures.
And it’s a mouth-watering affair in the Spanish capital as Real Madrid take on Atletico de Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening. Despite Los Colchoneros coming out on top in last season’s final, and in La Liga earlier on this campaign, Marca goes with a front page splash of Los Blanco’s last line of defence – Iker Casillas. And the fact the World Cup winner has not lost to Atletico for 15 years.
His record against them is impeccable, and he’s also set the new club record for the amount of time without conceding the goal – so no matter who plays up front for Diego Simeone’s side in the absence of the injured David Villa they know they will face a tough task to get past Casillas.
Elsewhere, Madrid will appeal the red card received by Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend. It hasn’t been confirmed by the Spanish FA how long he will be suspended for if it´s upheld, but it could be as long as three matches, meaning he would sit out the La Liga games against Villarreal, Getafe and Elche.
Finally, the Portuguese player’s former Manchester United teammate Gerard Pique, now at rivals Barcelona, has taken time out to praise Ronaldo for his form and congratulate him on picking up the Ballon d’Or award. Pique said Ronaldo was a deserving winner for his outstanding goalscoring feats in 2013 and he was pleased to see his former colleague lift the prize, despite beating Leonel Messi to it.
