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Cristiano Ronaldo to start against Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will start in Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will start in Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid.

The Portuguese is facing a domestic ban after seeing red in the 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, but will take part in the contest at the Bernabeu.

Ancelotti has also revealed that Gareth Bale, Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Arbeloa could return to the team for the encounter.

"Ronaldo will start tomorrow. His red card was a harsh decision. Cristiano gets provoked a lot and receives many tackles in every game," Ancelotti told reporters at a press conference.

"[Fabio] Coentrao and [Alvaro] Arbeloa will both play tomorrow. [Gareth] Bale is available to play. He trained well.

"[Raphael] Varane is fine. If he doesn't play tomorrow, he will play on Saturday."

Madrid lost in the final of the Copa del Rey to Atletico last season.

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Karim Benzema of Real Madrid CF celebrates after scoring Real's 2nd goal during the La Liga match against Real Valladolid CF on November 30, 2013
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid32256170224881
2Barcelona32217464372770
3GironaGirona32215667402768
4Atletico MadridAtletico32194959382161
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad321312746341251
7Real BetisBetis32121284038248
8Valencia32138113534147
9Villarreal32119125155-442
10Getafe32913103844-640
11Osasuna32116153746-939
12Sevilla32910134145-437
13Las PalmasLas Palmas32107153039-937
14AlavesAlaves3298152838-1035
15Rayo Vallecano32713122739-1234
16Celta Vigo32710153747-1031
17Mallorca32613132638-1231
18CadizCadiz32413152245-2325
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria32111203164-3314


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