Fernando Torres will want to start his return to Atletico Madrid with a win when they host holders and rivals Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday.
Torres could make his first appearance since his return to Atletico after he joined on loan from AC Milan until the end of the season with winger Alessio Cerci going the other way. Torres scored 91 goals in 244 games during his first stint before joining Liverpool in 2007, but he lost his way after he joined Chelsea for a British record £50million. Yet he is still adored by the Madrid faithful with over 45,000 turning up to the Vicente Calderon for his unveiling on Sunday and he will be looking to repay the fans faith in him.
Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back instantly from a disappointing week with a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan in a friendly and then their run of 22 wins in 22 competitive matches came to an end losing to Valencia 2-1 on Sunday. Defender Marcelo is confident his side can bounce back from the disappointment of that defeat at the Mestella.
He said: "I don't think that this defeat will affect the team going into Wednesday. That's another match and we'll be all out to win it. We're going to give our all to win, just like in every game."
Diego Simeone revealed that he will assess Torres in training before he decides whether he feature in this derby. With the form of Antoine Griezmann who has scored five goals in his last two games it looks unlikely that he will dislodge the French forward or Mario Mandzukic from their starting positions. It also looks likely that Simeone will be without defender Miranda due to a hamstring injury.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas is expected to start on Wednesday with Carlo Ancelotti stating: “Keylor Navas is going to play in the cup, and he will play right until the end of the competition.” The manager also stated that changes could be made after certain players haven’t recovered from the defeat to Valencia with James Rodriguez, Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Isco are all in contention for a start with Gareth Bale looking to be given another opportunity after his subpar performance at the Mestella.