Real Madrid missing four players for Atletico Madrid contest

Real Madrid will be missing four first-team players for Thursday's Copa del Rey contest with Atletico Madrid.

Los Blancos will enter the last-16 clash at Wanda Metropolitano off the back of a 4-1 victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, which made it seven straight wins in all competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti's side will now be aiming to advance in the Copa del Rey at the expense of their bitter rivals, before switching their attention back to La Liga, hosting Almeria this weekend.

Real Madrid remain without the services of Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba, with the trio all currently recovering from long-term ACL injuries.

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Meanwhile, Lucas Vazquez is out with a hamstring problem, but Ancelotti said during his press conference that the Spaniard "will be back on Friday", hinting at a potential return against Almeria.

"The team is fine. Tomorrow is another very complicated game because Atletico are a very tough opponent and we expect an even more complicated game because they are playing at home and they are doing very well there," the Real Madrid head coach said on Wednesday.

There had been some doubt over Rodrygo's involvement in the Madrid derby, as he missed training on Wednesday, but the Brazil international has been passed fit for the match.

"Rodrygo needed one more day of low intensity but he is ready for tomorrow. Rodrygo is back to playing at his best and he's doing well, I think he's doing well," said Ancelotti.

"The key to our good run is difficult to say because we've had a lot of injuries but we've held our own. The intensity in training is very good and that allows us to have a very good physical condition."

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Ancelotti also paid tribute to Vinicius Junior ahead of the match, with the Brazilian scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 success over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

"Vinicius is back to his best. He scored in a different way in the Clasico and he is learning to play more inside and that makes him more dangerous because it makes him much less predictable," said the Italian.

'He's combining very well with Rodrygo. I liked what he said more than the three goals."

Ancelotti also said that he would 'take into account tiredness' when naming his starting side on Thursday, and it is possible that Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga could be introduced into the midfield, with Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni potentially being rested.

Real Madrid squad vs. Atletico:

Lunin, Kepa, Pineiro; Carvajal, Nacho, F Garcia, Rudiger, Mendy, Tobias; Bellingham, Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Guler, Martin; Vinicius, Rodrygo, Joselu, Brahim