Real Madrid will carry a 4-0 lead into the second leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-32 clash against Melilla on Wednesday and are hoping to make it into the last 16 for the third season in succession.

Los Blancos were confident victors at the Estadio Alvarez Claro in October, when academy star Cristo Gonzalez scored a debut goal alongside contributions from Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and Alvaro Odriozola.

Manager Santiago Solari's side have won their last two matches since the 3-0 disappointment at Eibar, notching 2-0 victories over Roma and Valencia in the UEFA Champions League and La Liga, respectively.

Melilla's chances of turning the tide seem that much slimmer in Madrid, and the Segunda Division B outfit appear all but ousted from this season's cup competition.

However, Wednesday's visitors have warmed up for their visit to the Santiago Bernabeu with a run of five consecutive wins, keeping clean sheets in four of those.

Date: Thursday, December 6

Time: 3:15 p.m. GMT/10:15 a.m. ET

Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)

TV Info: beIN Sports 3 (U.S)

Odds

Real Madrid: 1-12

Draw: 10-1

Melilla: 30-1

Via Oddschecker.com.

Preview

Real appear to have restored equilibrium since capitulating 3-0 at Eibar in the last week of October, Solari's first defeat as manager and their reminder in his charge that the team still has plenty of work left to do.

A pair of clean victories against Roma and Los Che have them outfit back on track, and AFP's Tom Allnutt has since been tempted to put their sole loss under Solari down as an anomaly:

It's more than likely former Castilla coach Solari will continue to make use of his youngsters against lower-league Melilla, although he'll be conscious of advancing Real's cup ambitions, too.

Marcos Llorente in particular has impressed of late, and Solari recently told Real's official website (h/t Press Association, via MailOnline) after the Valencia win of his satisfaction at seeing the youth succeed in his first team:

"The younger players brought some energy, but there needs to be a balance of that and the experience that the older players give. Players who combine both can compete in this squad, but we want to open the doors to those young players who can feature in the future.

"It gives me real satisfaction that players like Valverde, Reguilon and Marcos Llorente are here. We're happy as a club because we have had players who have come up through the system and they're now getting minutes in the first team."

But as the young have impressed, so too have some of the older figures. Luka Modric may not be in action in midweek after he was named 2018 Ballon d'Or winner on Monday, but Solari had words of praise for his star before the award announcement, via Goal:

Melilla weren't able to score when they hosted Real on the north coast of Africa a little more than one month ago, and this time it's their turn to make the trip.

One name Real fans will watch out for is that of Vinicius Junior, who made his first Real start in the first leg. However, that opportunity doesn't look to have been a good omen for the Brazilian youngster, per AS:

Melilla have only conceded once in their last five games, but one would guess that Solari's men should prove too much for their guests in what promises to be a routine follow-up.