MX23RW : Wednesday, January 15 00:19:04| >> :60:230:230:

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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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico19135134122244
2Real Madrid19134243192443
3Barcelona19122551222938
4Athletic Bilbao19106329171236
5Villarreal198653431330
6Mallorca199371921-230
7Real Sociedad198471713428
8GironaGirona198472725228
9Rayo Vallecano196762222025
10Real BetisBetis196762123-225
11Osasuna196762328-525
12Celta Vigo197392830-224
13Sevilla196582128-723
14Las PalmasLas Palmas196492429-522
15Getafe194781316-319
16Leganes194781829-1119
17AlavesAlaves1945102131-1017
18Espanyol1944111731-1416
19Real ValladolidValladolid1943121337-2415
20Valencia1927101829-1113


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