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Rare midday kick off for Real Madrid against struggling Granada

Xinhua, January 6, 2017 Adjust font size:

Real Madrid face what should be a relatively straightforward home game when they entertain struggling Granada in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

Real Madrid coach will be without the central defensive pairing of Sergio Ramos and Pepe, but will have Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema back in the side after they were rested for their impressive King' s Cup triumph over Sevilla on Wednesday.

Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Vazquez and long-term absentee, Gareth Bale also miss out, but their absences should be well covered by Isco and James Rodriguez, who was able to redeem himself after a poor start to the season with two goals in midweek.

Meanwhile Nacho Fernandez and Rafael Varene continue to play in central defense while Dani Carvajal can be expected to continue on the right of defense.

However, if Madrid have injury worries, so do Granada, whose timid recovery under Lucas Alcaraz came to an end with a 3-0 home defeat against Real Sociedad before the Christmas break.

Granada are second from bottom of the table with just one win all season and that defeat laid bare the fact that although Alcaraz has organized his squad, it lacks quality and depth and that depth has been further tested by the loss of Mehdi Carcela and Victorian Angban who are both preparing to play in the African Cup of Nations.

Isaac Cuenca, Dimitri Foulquier and central defender Matthieu Saunier are also out, with the loss of Cuenca and Saunier denying Alcarez much needed speed in his back line.

The 1pm kick off will allow the TV audience in Asia a chance to watch Real Madrid at prime time while fans in the Santiago Bernabeu should be able to enjoy what promises to be a comfortable win in a festive atmosphere. Endit