CONFIRMED lineups: Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad, La Liga

Real Madrid Starting XI: Casillas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Illarramendi, Kroos, Isco, James, Bale, Benzema.

Real Sociedad Starting XIRulli; A.Elustondo, Mikel, Iñigo, Yuri; Elustondo, Pardo, Granero, Prieto Canales and Vela.

Carlo Ancelotti starts the lineup he confirmed during Friday's press conference. Varane fills Pepe's shoes while the Portuguese is injured, Marcelo's muscular problems appear to be fine. Asier Illarramendi will have a chance to prove his worth after being a reserve throughout almost the entire season, and that probably means that Kroos will move forward to play alongside Isco too.

Upfront, Ancelotti starts Bale, James and Benzema, with the Welsh attacking through Real's left flank and James on the right. Benzema, as always, is the starting striker. If anything goes wrong, Ancelotti will have Chicharito and Jesé waiting on the bench.

It will be interesting to see how Bale -- and Real Madrid as a whole -- tries to replicate Cristiano Ronaldo's offensive production, though that task will not be easy for Ancelotti's side. Lucas Silva will not even be on the bench.