Benzema fit to play for Real in Madrid derby

La Liga’s first Madrid derby of the 2016-17 campaign will happen on Saturday.

There is a question as to whether Griezmann could be seen as successor to Cristiano Ronaldo, although such fears seem premature given the Portuguese forward recently signed a contract extension until 2021 with Real.

Real’s only two hard rivals so far this season have been Atletico Club Bilbao and Villarreal, with both of those games at home, so this will be the first major challenge Zinedine Zidane’s side have had on the road.

The home side looked invigorated after the interval, however.

Griezmann is contracted to Atletico until 2021 but there are reports he could look to leave the club when manager Diego Simeone departs.

Zidane also confirmed that his own French forward, Karim Benzema, is set to play in this weekend’s crunch clash.

A Real victory would stretch its advantage over its city rival to nine points and severely dent Atletico’s hopes of repeating its La Liga triumph of 2014. That match starts at 9:10 a.m. CT.

Bet365 regard Atletico Madrid as the 7/5 favourites while an away win is 19/10. [Image by Denis Doyle/Getty Images]Atletico’s Predicted Lineup Vs.

The big debate around the Calderon this week has been over whether Simeone will stick with this year’s tactical change which has seen playmaker Koke move inside from the wing, a switch which has seen the team score more goals, but also become less solid defensively. “We want to play, we know how hard the game will be because we’re up against a very good opponent but we’re not going to change”.

Griezmann has shown in the past that he can very well measure up to the likes of Ronaldo and Bale but could fall short this time around, if he does end up starting, which is doubtful, considering his fitness. A comeback of Pepe from injury will be a relief for Zidane as he can form a stable partnership with Raphael Varane to hinder the opponent’s attacks.

As for Atletico Madrid, there are a few injured players in Roji Blancos side. Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric will return to the field against the Rojiblancos, who are seeking to keep their clean derby record, which stretches over the past three years.

Presently, Real Madrid are appealing the transfer ban imposed on them by Federation Internationale de Football Association until January 2018, and they club are sure of winning the case.

The odds were provided by Paddypower.

Sky Sports 5 are showing this fixture live, with coverage beginning at 7.15pm.