Cristiano Ronaldo showed he remains the best player in the world at the moment by winning his second straight FIFA Ballon d'Or title, and the Portuguese superstar must now show just why by inspiring Real Madrid to victory over Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey last-16 second leg at the Bernabeu.
Atletico Madrid come into this match as the clear favourites having picked up a convincing 2-0 victory at the Vicente Calderon in the first leg last week and the onus will be on Ronaldo and co. to turn that deficit around at Real Madrid's home.
While Atletico are the reigning La Liga champions, they will know the tie is far from done, because Real Madrid, when on song, are capable of hurting any team in the world.
"We know how to play against Atletico," said Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. "We know each other very well, we need a match with intensity and to have cool heads.
"We have 90 minutes to turn it around, we have to be patient. We're playing against a team that defend very well and are very organised, the best team in Europe in defence.
"Balance is key to winning. It's an important match in an important moment of the season. We have to be calm, because only then will we produce our best. It's clear that Atletico are going to play an intense match. It's one of the key factors in trying to win."
Real produced a stirring comeback in the Champions League final against Atletico last season, and the reigning European and Copa Del Rey champions will look to that victory when they step onto the Bernabeu turf come Thursday.
However, scoring against Atletico, let alone a minimum of two goals, is easier said than done, something that Ancelotti is well aware of.
"I'm not the only one who thinks that Atletico are the trickiest," added the Italian. "They won La Liga and got to the final of the Champions League. The whole of Europe thinks so, not just me.
"It will be an even match, as always. We are behind in the tie and we'll try to fix that in this game. We don't need to change our style.
"The word 'aggressive' can be understood in many ways. Defensive aggression is important to win back the ball when you don't have it. It's an important and positive word in football."
Atletico Madrid are masters at shutting out teams when they have a significant lead, and Real Madrid will need to be at their attacking best to find a way past the sturdy defence a couple of times or more.
"We have a positive result [to take to the second leg] but playing against the world champions and the Champions League winners, we to have pay attention and play with great balance," said Atletico manager Diego Simeone.
"I can't imagine a calm match. I imagine it very intense at the start, with a lot of adrenaline, a lot of back-and-forth and counter-attacks from both teams."
Real Madrid will look to play on the seeds of doubt created by the comprehensive loss suffered by their crosstown rivals to Barcelona at the weekend, and if they can score an early goal then the tie could become really interesting.
Where to Watch Live
The Madrid Derby Copa Del Rey second leg is scheduled for an 8 pm local time (12.30 am IST, 7 pm GMT, 2 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Ten Action and Ten HD. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Ten Sports Live. Viewers in Spain can watch the match live on Canal+.
Viewers in the UK can catch all the action live on Sky Sports 1 with the option to live stream on Sky Go. The Madrid Derby will be shown live in the USA and Canada on Bein Sports USA and Bein Sports Canada respectively with the live stream option on Bein Sports Connect.
