Atletico Madrid head into Tuesday's Copa del Rey semi-final second leg with Real Madrid knowing that they need a minor miracle to keep alive their hopes of retaining the trophy.

Real travel to the Vicente Calderon holding a 3-0 lead from the first leg - a match which ended their run of successive defeats against Diego Simeone's side.

Prior to the clash at the Bernabeu last week, Atletico had lost just once in all competitions this season. However, defeat to their rivals was followed by a 2-0 loss in the league to Almeria at the weekend, with that result dropping them off top spot in the table.

Carlo Ancelotti's team temporarily moved top of La Liga with a 4-2 win over Villarreal on Saturday, but dropped to second after Barcelona beat Sevilla 4-1 at the Estadio Ramon on Sunday evening.

Los Blancos – who have won the Copa del Rey on 18 occasions - have been victorious in 11 of the last 14 matches between the two teams, including a 2-1 success in a La Liga clash at the Calderon last season.

Atletico boss Simeone could welcome goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois back into the side after the Belgian, on loan from Chelsea, missed the defeat to Almeria through injury, but Filipe Luis and David Villa remain on the sidelines.

Koke is also expected to start after sitting out the last match through suspension, but leading scorer Diego Costa is suspended, meaning that Adrian Lopez could be handed the central striking role.

Meanwhile, Real have Cristiano Ronaldo available despite a domestic suspension. The Portuguese is expected to start in a three-pronged attack, but Jese Rodriguez could miss out as head coach Ancelotti looks to rest the youngster.

Left-backs Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao are both struggling, meaning that Alvaro Arbeloa could switch to the left side of the defence.

French centre-back Raphael Varane could also start following a period on the sidelines, with Pepe and Sergio Ramos both one booking away from missing the final.

The winner of the contest will face either Barcelona or Real Sociedad in the final, with the former holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg at the Camp Nou.

Recent form

Atletico: WWWLL

Real Madrid: WWDWW

Possible starting lineups

Atletico: Courtois; Manquillo, Miranda, Godin, Juanfran; Koke, Gabi, Suarez; Turan, Adrian, Sosa

Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Arbeloa; Alonso, Modric, Di Maria; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale

Sports Mole says: 1-1