The Madrid derby on Sunday night is shaping up to be a fascinating encounter, but it might be missing some of its star names.
Chiefly, Karim Benzema. The French forward suffered a thigh problem against Celtic last week and is still not training with the team as of Thursday, report Mundo Deportivo. their analysis is that he is ‘almost discarded’ as an option for Real Madrid on Sunday.
Following Real Madrid’s victory over RB Leipzig, manager Carlo Ancelotti told the press that if Benzema “trains well on Saturday, he will play on Sunday,” implying he still has a chance to play. Eder Militao appears to have fully recovered from his muscle strain, but Lucas Vazquez will definitely miss out.
While Los Blancos would arguably miss no player more, Diego Simeone is currently sweating on the fitness of four of his key players, as per Sport. A fifth, Sergio Reguilon, has been ruled out from taking to the pitch against his former side.
Thomas Lemar, Jan Oblak, Stefan Savic and Jose Maria Gimenez are all dealing with muscle issues and are doubtful for Atletico Madrid. None of them featured against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek and none were training normally on Thursday either.
Any or all of these absences will both majorly affect how Ancelotti and Simeone will set up their teams. Neither Rodrygo Goes or Eden Hazard have convinced as Benzema replacements in the last two matches for Real Madrid.
Meanwhile Lemar’s absence has more natural alternatives, but the potential loss of Savic, Gimenez and Oblak leaves Los Colchoneros without half of their defensive block.
Given the fact that Simeone is known for his antifootball, I predict a draw here.
Whats funny is that ATM always play their souls out against RM but always bend over nicely for fcb.