Real Madrid will be without captain and star man Karim Benzema for Sunday’s El Clasico clash with Barcelona.
The Frenchman picked up a calf injury after scoring twice in Monday’s 3-0 win over Mallorca and after he was unable to train on Saturday, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed he would not feature.
“We never take risks,” Ancelotti said. “Tomorrow [Benzema] can’t play because he hasn’t trained, he feels some discomfort. It’s a small injury... [Gareth Bale] is one of the alternatives. We have Mariano [Diaz], we have [Luka] Jovic, I’ve played Isco and Rodrygo there too. There are a lot of options.
“Karim is 34 years old, it can happen. It doesn’t worry me, we have two weeks now to work with him. We have time to get him ready for the end of the season, and he’ll come back and make the difference like always.”
Left-back Ferland Mendy will also be missing after picking up a hamstring problem in the Mallorca win.
Starting XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Alaba, Militao, Nacho; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Fede Valverde, Rodrygo, Vinicius
Subs: Lunin, Pineiro, Vallejo, Hazard, Asensio, Marcelo, Jovic, Vazquez, Ceballos, Isco, Mariano, Camavinga
