Carlo Ancelotti has rarely been able to count on all of his stars this season and it appears that will be the case for Real Madrid’s crosstown trip to Rayo Vallecano too.
Karim Benzema returned to action on Wednesday for the final half hour of their 5-1 win over Celtic in midweek. The French forward was again absent from training on Saturday, however is expected to be present on Sunday and ultimately make the Rayo match according to Relevo. Equally, Benzema’s fitness has rarely followed the prognosis this season and it would be fair to say he hasn’t been fully fit since the beginning of the season.
However the same cannot be said for Antonio Rudiger. The German central defender reportedly has a muscle strain in his hip and missed training too.
Although the issue is not thought to be serious the World Cup is fast approaching and Rudiger is expected to be a key part of the German side in Qatar.
While they should still have a enough to beat Rayo, they are just one point ahead of Barcelona and the pressure will be on to respond. Barcelona face Almeria on Saturday night and could be ahead of Los Blancos at kick-off time too.
