Cristiano Ronaldo to start 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.