Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are playing the second leg of their Cop Del Rey match on Thursday and the matchup from Santiago Bernabéu for the Madrid Derby has Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale looking to bounce back and it starts up at 2 pm ET for the Round of 16 on beIN Sport online for the match.
The two teams play again in La Liga play next month and this will be the second matchup in a week after Atletico won over Real last Wednesday. These two teams matched up for the Champions League last year and that was won by Real, while the trophy here is also held by Real coming into this. Ronaldo and company can make up this deficit and they come in looking to get things going after Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or again.
The teams are not dealing with any major injuries and Real will have Luka Modrić out of the lineup and that comes as he is dealing with a lingering hamstring issue. Carlo Ancelotti has some interesting decisions to make and this is a big match with the way things went last week for Real. The team has not played well against Atletico as of late, as the team, has not emerged victorious in four tries and now they get another chance.
Real has not won over the team since taking the Champions League final last year and now they are against the team in the round of 16. The team won the title in La Liga last season and they come in after a loss against Barcelona last week in league play. Fernando Torres may get another start after the game last week and he has the chance to be a key player going forward for the club. Ronaldo may not be in the starting lineup and that would come after he was rested in the first leg matchup.
Real once again has a stacked lineup with Pepe, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos as well as Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and that could be enough to win on Thursday. Real Madrid comes in first in La Liga over Barcelona and Atletico and they last won over Espanyol and they will be looking to keep things going in their upcoming matches. The team plays against Atletico again in a couple weeks and that comes after matchups with Real Sociedad as well as Sevilla.
Ronaldo has been the best player in the world once again and he has been impressive over the last calendar year. Ronaldo called on fans to give Bale a break after he missed a wide open pass last week and now the two stars have the chance to get things going in the Copa.
Check here for the Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid live coverage.
