Atletico Madrid have the perfect chance to lift morale after Sunday’s La Liga defeat at Barcelona when they play their King’s Cup last 16, second leg at bitter local rivals Real Madrid on Thursday.

Atletico have a 2-0 advantage over the holders from last week’s first leg at the Calderon and knocking Real out of the competition would mark the latest triumph for the Spanish capital’s second club over their neighbours.

Diego Simeone’s men beat Real to win the Spanish Super Cup in August and followed up with a 2-1 success at the Bernabeu in La Liga in September.

Real then embarked on a Spanish record run of 22 straight victories before losing at Valencia in La Liga and at Atletico in the Cup.

Atletico fullback Juanfran dismissed the suggestion that the defeat at Barca would affect the way he and his team mates performed on Thursday.

The winners of the tie will almost certainly meet Barca in the quarter-finals as the record winners have a 5-0 advantage ahead of their second leg at Elche on Thursday. “However today’s match had turned out, Madrid will want to turn the tie around,” Juanfran had said.

“We will not allow that and I am convinced that we will get through,” added the Spain international.

Real, the European and world champions, bounced back from the consecutive defeats with a 3-0 La Liga victory at home to Espanyol on Saturday.

Clubs often use the Cup to give second-string players a chance to shine but coach Carlo Ancelotti is planning to field the strongest possible side. “We have time to prepare well for the match,” Ancelotti said after the Espanyol game.

“The best team will play because we will try to turn the tie around and do all we can to get to the quarter-finals,” added the Italian, who led Real to Champions League and King’s Cup triumphs in his first season in charge in 2013-14.

“Everyone is looking forward to this match but we have to remain calm for now. We will prepare and we will be playing at home which will help us.”

This season’s edition of the Cup is the first time since 1969-70, when teams from lower divisions began competing, that only top-flight sides reached the last 16.

Espanyol trump Valencia

BARCELONA: Late substitute Felipe Caicedo scored twice to give Espanyol a 2-0 win over 10-man Valencia on Tuesday and a place in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. Espanyol advanced 3-2 on aggregate after losing the first leg 2-1 at Valencia.

Malaga also moved into the last eight, losing 3-2 to Levante on the night but coming through 4-3 on aggregate.

Valencia played a man down from the 13th minute after Shkodran Mustafi lost the ball under pressure from Sergio Garcia and then fouled him when the forward only had the goalkeeper to beat.

The visitors resisted until Caicedo headed home Salva Sevilla’s free kick in the 79th minute — just four minutes after coming on. The Ecuador striker received a heavy knock from goalie Yoel Rodriguez as he made contact with the ball, but jumped right back up and stripped off his shirt to celebrate. Caicedo struck again with a minute left, after controlling Lucas Vazquez’s squared pass.

Malaga had won the first meeting with Levante 2-0 and looked to have taken full control of the second leg after goals by Ricardo Horta in the 22nd minute and Jose “Recio’’ Garcia in the 38th.

But David Barral sparked Levante’s rally, scoring twice after coming on in the 60th. The striker pulled a goal back in the 71st before adding another with a great solo effort three minutes later. He then headed on a corner kick for Juanfran Garcia to net Levante’s third in the 85th. Barral received an ovation from the smattering of fans at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium when he was sent off with a second booking in the 90th after he used his arm to knock the ball into the net.