There are doubts about Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema’s participation in the summit against Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, after the La Liga top scorer injured his calf.
The France striker was injured after scoring two goals and creating a goal for the league leaders during their 3-0 victory over Mallorca on Monday.
Real will host arch-rivals Barcelona in an opportunity to consolidate their lead and continue to lift their spirits after their epic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 last week.
Real have 66 points from 28 matches, 10 points ahead of second-placed Seville and 15 points from Barcelona, third in the standings.
With 11 matches remaining, Real is hoping to achieve the double of the domestic league and the Champions League this season.
The two rivals have had a run of four straight wins and both play with great confidence.
Sunday’s match will give coach Xabi Hernandez a chance to show how much his team has evolved since his arrival in mid-November.
Barcelona dropped to ninth place when coach Ronald Koeman was sacked, but during his revival he has not lost since his extra-time defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the King’s Cup on January 20, and has scored 20 goals in his last six league matches.
If he wins at the top, Barcelona will confirm that he is moving in the right direction after leaving Lionel Messi before the start of the season due to financial problems.
Despite his late awakening, the Catalans are fighting to finish the season in the golden square and secure a seat in the Champions League, with only four points separating Barcelona and Real Sociedad, who are in sixth place.
Spanish media speculated that Benzema would be absent from Sunday’s match and that he would remain in Madrid for treatment during the international period, instead of joining France’s squad to play two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa.
Real announced that defender Ferland Mendy will be absent for the next two weeks due to a hamstring injury, but Rodrygo, who was injured in the Mallorca match, can play on Sunday.