More playing time: Teye Partey's time to shine

Thomas Teye Partey was a surprised quantity and not many people expected anything of him. But the situation has changed, not just because of Tiago's injury, but because the minutes the Ghanaian midfielder played against Espanyol were top quality.

His performance in his debut La Liga game for Atletico against Espanyol on Saturday has convinced Diego Simeone to give him and the youth a chance in their Copa del Rey last-32 tie with Reus, which kicks off on Tuesday.

Los Colchoneros are expected to be largely changed from their 1-0 win against Espanyol on Saturday, starting with Teye Partey in midfielde, but the Coach emphasised the 'opportunity' for some of his canteras to showcase their potential.

'The Copa has always been respected by Atletico,' Simeone said at a Press conference.

'It's given us great joy. For this squad, [the 2013 Copa triumph] was the start of very important things which followed.

'We'll work as we've always done [in the order of] friendlies, Copa, La Liga and the Champions League, with the same enthusiasm when wearing the club jersey.

'[Miguel Angel] Moya will play, but it's impossible to tell what the future holds [in regards to whether he will start more games].

'We'll take a couple of canteras who are doing well. It could be an opportunity for Borja, Roberto or [Samuel] Villita.

'The tie is over two games, but we'll go there with humility and respect, trying to play the match on our terms.'