Atletico vs. Real: Issues and Decisions That Will Shape Madrid Derby Cup Game

Atletico Madrid play host to their neighbours, Real Madrid, on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 tie. Madrid knocked Atletico out of last year's competition, and Diego Simeone's men will be seeking revenge this time around.

Madrid's 22-match winning streak was brought to a halt by Valencia on Sunday. It was their first defeat since their 2-1 league loss to Atletico back in mid-September and, as per Marca, saw them fall just short of the world record of 24 consecutive victories amassed by Coritiba of Brazil.

Per J.A. Jimenez and R. Jimenez of Marca, Madrid's players covered less ground than in any other league match so far this season during the defeat at the Mestalla. The 98.54 kilometres they covered was almost seven kilometres less than in the victory over Almeria in their previous league match.

The narrative constructed by both Marca and AS is that Madrid are starting to feel the effects of their involvement in six competitions—a problem further aggravated by the lack of rotation of key players.

It is an argument at least partially supported by the facts, when the minutes played by Madrid's players are compared to their Atletico counterparts, per data from Soccerway (with additional author calculation).

While, across all competitions, Diego Godin (2,250 minutes) and Koke (2,245) have both played more often than any Madrid player, the 11 footballers most regularly selected by Carlo Ancelotti have, on average, been involved in 132 additional minutes of football in comparison to Atletico’s most-used 11.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press/Associated Press

Per Marca, Ancelotti denied that his players were suffering from tiredness in the wake of the defeat to Valencia. He described them as being in "good physical shape" and suggested that he would select a full-strength lineup against Atletico.

AS (h/t RMadridHome) report that Keylor Navas will come in for Iker Casillas in goal while Raphael Varane and Sami Khedira could also receive starts. But it will otherwise be an unchanged side, with all three of Ancelotti's most heavily utilised outfield players (Toni Kroos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema) highly likely to start.

More rotations will be required in the following weeks if the Italian is to re-energise his squad ahead of the vital final months of the campaign.

His opposite number, Simeone, certainly seems set to make a few changes to his side for Wednesday's match.

F.J. Diaz of AS reports that Mario Mandzukic, Arda Turan and Guilherme Siqueira were all excused from training on Monday although the latter two did show up for gym work. He notes that Simeone rarely grants leave to players he is counting on for a midweek fixture and that Mandzukic and Turan, in particular, are unlikely to start against Madrid.

Fernando Torres is training as normal and could have a part to play following his popular return to his boyhood club.

Per Soccerway, Ronaldo scored his 33rd goal of the season in Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Valencia on Sunday. His strike did, however, come from the penalty spot. Bar one excellent first-half chance, he was otherwise kept very quiet by a strong and well-organised Valencia defence.

Atletico have enjoyed similar success against Ronaldo in recent matches between the sides. By staying compact between the lines and restricting space in behind, they have been able to largely nullify his threat from open play.

Ronaldo did score a penalty in Madrid's 2-1 league defeat to Atletico at the Bernabeu earlier this season. He was influential in the opening half-hour but faded thereafter as Atletico provided their left-back, Siqueira, with better support.

The Portugal international also scored four times in the five meetings between the sides last season. But again, three of those strikes came from the penalty spot.

Indeed, in his last eight matches against Atletico in all competitions, Ronaldo has scored just once from open play—a late equaliser in the 2-2 league draw at the Vicente Calderon last season.

If Atletico can again limit his influence on Wednesday, Madrid will have to rely on other, less consistent, scorers to fire them to a positive result.