Atletico Madrid entertains Real Madrid in their last-16 tie of the Copa del Rey on Thursday night in what is likely to be a feisty affair in the Metropolitano Stadium.

Rodrygo (R) of Real Madrid breaks through during a La Liga football match between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sept. 24, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

The game comes just eight days after Real Madrid beat their neighbors 5-3 after extra time in the semi-final of the Spanish Supercup, with two goals in the last three minutes tilting a hugely entertaining game Real Madrid's way.

Real went on to beat FC Barcelona 4-1 in Sunday's Supercup final, but Atletico has already set the tone for Thursday by saying it won't perform the traditional 'guard of honor' that is usual for recently crowned champions.

There are two big factors in Atletico's favor on Thursday night: the first is that the game is played in its home ground, where it has already beaten Real Madrid 3-1 in La Liga earlier this season. That contrasts sharply with Saudi Arabia where the game was played in front of stands filled with Saudi fans, nearly all of whom were cheering on Real Madrid.

A second point in favor of Atletico is that it returned to Spain directly after losing its semi-final and has had the past six days to prepare for Thursday, whereas Real Madrid didn't get home until Monday morning after playing Barca on Sunday night, meaning Atletico should be the fresher of the two sides and it will be interesting to see if Carlo Ancelotti makes many rotations to his starting 11, although his defensive options are limited by injuries to David Alaba, Eder Militao and Lucas Vazquez.

Another debate for Real Madrid is whether Andriy Lunin will continue in goal ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga. Lunin played in Sunday's final and gave a solid performance, while Kepa's opportunity to impose himself after a muscle injury seems to have gone after a tentative display a week ago, when he was at fault for Atletico's third goal as he failed to deal with a cross.

Atletico is likely to start with Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata in attack, with Angel Correa waiting on the bench after the Argentinean and his family suffered a robbery at gunpoint in the family home on Saturday night.

This is the second in a trio of meetings between the two teams, who are fated to meet for a third time in three weeks when they have their second league game of the season in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on February 4. 

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