The Sunday night Madrid derby is shaping up to be an exciting game, but some of its big players might be absent.
particularly Karim Benzema. According to Mundo Deportivo, the French attacker still hasn’t been able to train with the club as of Thursday after suffering a thigh injury against Celtic last week. According to their analysis, he is ‘nearly dismissed’ as a Sunday possibility for Real Madrid.
After Real Madrid’s victory over RB Leipzig, manager Carlo Ancelotti informed the media that Benzema “will play on Sunday” if “he trains well on Saturday.” This statement seemed to imply that Benzema still had a chance to play. Aside from Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao seems to have totally healed from his muscle strain.
Diego Simeone is currently concerned about the condition of four of his important players, according to Sport, even though Los Blancos would likely miss no player more. Sergio Reguilon, the fifth, will not play against his previous team due to an injury.
For Atletico Madrid, Thomas Lemar, Jan Oblak, Stefan Savic, and Jose Maria Gimenez are all questionable because of muscle problems. Both on Thursday and in the midweek matchup with Bayer Leverkusen, none of them made an appearance.
Both Ancelotti and Simeone’s teams will be significantly altered by one or more of these absences. In Real Madrid’s last two games, neither Rodrygo Gomes nor Eden Hazard have impressed as Benzema’s replacements.
While there are more natural replacements for Lemar, Los Colchoneros would be without half of their defensive block if Savic, Gimenez, and Oblak were to leave.
