James, Ramos and Bale will recover in time for the Derby

Although Pepe and Jesé are still questionable for Sunday's Derby and Danilo will most likely miss that match, Real Madrid will be able to count on James, Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale. Those three starters could also play some minutes against Malmo this Wednesday but Benítez should not take any chances with their recoveries and will probably keep them out just to have them ready in time for the crucial Derby at the Vicente Calderón.

Real Madrid are missing James and Bale's offensive production. Los Blancos failed to score against Málaga at home in what was a very disappointing performance. Real Madrid should always be expected to beat those teams at the Bernabéu but Benítez's men didn't have the firepower needed to beat Carlos Kameni and his defensive line.

Ramos' passing skills and defensive awareness will also be very important if Pepe can't recover in time because Nacho completed a woeful performance against Málaga and is definitely not ready to stop Atlético de Madrid.