Copa del Rey: Role reversal as Liverpool greats collide

Fernando Torres is enjoying being able to feel the love again

Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez clash in the Copa del Rey, with Atletico Madrid's El Nino in better spirits...

The Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid features a sub-plot to intrigue any Liverpool fans watching: a collision between the two great strikers who left them for record fees this decade - Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres.

What makes this particular showdown even more fascinating is that for quite possibly the first time since Torres quit Liverpool for Chelsea in January 2011, things are looking brighter on-pitch for him than his Uruguayan successor.

The Spaniard has been forced to spend the past four years as a punchline, scoring just 20 goals in 110 Premier League appearances after Chelsea wrote their 50 million cheque, then wasting his opportunity at rebirth with AC Milan earlier this season, netting once in ten outings.

In such times of crisis, you need friends, family and a supportive crowd, so what a blessing for the 30-year-old that "his club" Atletico Madrid were open to a reunion eight years on from his sale to Liverpool, agreeing a slightly convoluted loan deal with the assistance of Chelsea and Milan.

45,000 fans turned up to welcome him home on January 4 and 11 days later he gave them a reason to believe that he might recapture the form that made him such a hero, firing twice at the Bernabeu as Atletico knocked holders Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey.

As Torres savours some increasingly rare positive publicity, Suarez - who usually only has to handle negative headlines because of his behaviour rather than his performances - is being criticised for struggling to adapt to Spanish football and Barcelona.

The Uruguayan was out until late October through suspension, and his first two games coincided with the Catalan side's first two La Liga defeats. At that point, they had 22 points from a possible 24.

Initially, there were easy excuses for Suarez's lack of impact: first being off the pace due to his spell out of action and then the underachievement of the squad, which culminated in a loss at Real Sociedad earlier this month and a week of internal conflict and chaos.

However, their situation has improved since, with Barcelona winning their last four matches by a 14-1 aggregate score, and it is in those circumstances that Suarez appearing to be the weak link of the Lionel Messi-Neymar-Suarez trio attracts more attention. He has netted twice in 11 league games.

It isn't all doom and gloom though. Four of his total five goals in all competitions came in his past seven fixtures and he has fared best in cups, notching in his most recent three Champions League or Copa del Rey outings.

So whose side are you on? Suarez is 2.89/5 to score at any time, while Torres can be backed at 5.59/2.