The Atletico Madrid supporters at the Estadio Vicente Calderon won't be the only ones hoping for a win, as a Rojiblancos victory in the Madrid derby could help Barcelona go top of LaLiga. With a win against Malaga, alongside an Atletico win in the derby, the Catalans could sit atop the league, which is their main goal before the Clasico on December 3. If the derby ends in a draw, and the Blaugrana win, then Real Madrid and Barcelona would be level on points ahead of Spanish football's most important match.
Nonetheless, a difficult away trip to Estadio Anoeta, which has always come back to haunt the club, precedes the Clasico, and Barcelona will have little room for error in such difficult and demanding back to back games.Real Madrid return to training on Monday not knowing how many players they will have available for Saturday's derby against Atletico. Up to five (Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Pepe, Casemiro and Mateo Kovacic) all head into the game with physical problems, but Ramos is close to returning from a knee injury that he picked up while on international duty.
The captain has returned to training individually and has worked with the ball, but is yet to train with the rest of his squad since his return. Though Karim Benzema missed the game against Leganes, the Frenchman should be available for head coach Zinedine Zidane. After he suffered a bicep injury against Alaves on October 29, the derby has come too soon for Pepe. At the time of the injury, the Portuguese centre-back was expected to miss three or four weeks and, though he is making progress, it would be a shock to see him play. Of all the players mentioned, Casemiro's situation is arguably the most interesting.
There have been a few complications since the Brazilian suffered a fibula injury on September 18. Considering that the 24-year-old is in the final stages of his recuperation, it seems unlikely that Zidane will run the risk of playing him and the 44-year-old Frenchman will also be fretting over the fitness of Mateo Kovacic as he returned from Croatia with a knock. Meanwhile, there at least appears to be good news surrounding Luka Modric. "I'm ready to play in the derby," he proclaimed. "The 90 minutes? We will see."
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