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This first Clásico of the Liga BBVA season has the potential to be a thrilling match between two of Europe's best teams. It would be reasonable to say that Real Madrid have not been quite as impressive as the potential of their players suggests, but maybe Benítez needed his men to recover from their injuries in order to have some depth and different options to choose from.
Considering that Los Blancos are 3 points behind Barcelona in the Liga BBVA table, it will be extremely important not to lose the match. A draw would be acceptable in terms of long-term odds at the title, but a defeat could have a serious impact in the team's confidence.
It will be extremely interesting to see what Benítez does with his lineup. Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, James, Isco, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are all available, but there is no room for all of them and Benítez has been reluctant to do without Casemiro ever since the Brazilian started the Madrid Derby.
Match Information
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Date & Time: Saturday, November 20 (18:15 local time, 12:15 EST).
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain.
Projected Real Madrid Starting XI: Navas, Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Bale, Ronaldo, James, Benzema.
Players to watch: James, Navas, Danilo.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona
TV Information: BeIN Sports (United States), Sky Sports 2 (UK), SuperSport 3 Africa (Kenya), Canal + Liga (Spain) Others.
Stream information: Others.