Real Madrid Coach Manuel Pellegrini To Opt For Benzema Over In-Form Higuain For Barcelona Tie

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini is reportedly set to opt for Karim Benzema in his starting lineup against Barcelona with Raul and in-form Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain starting from the bench, according to AS.

The inclusion of the former Lyon striker in the starting eleven for the top of the table clash against the reigning champions may come as a surprise given the recent scoring form of Higuain.

While the Argentinian has scored four goals in his last three league games and also got the only goal of the game in the midweek UEFA Champions League over Zurich, Benzema has only managed four goals in 13 appearances in all competitions.

Veteran striker Raul has also scored more than the French forward with five, but took 18 appearances to reach that tally.

Real travel to Camp Nou on Sunday in search of the win that would put them four points clear of their bitter rivals and could see Barcelona drop to third spot in the title race if Sevilla manage to beat Malaga in the Andalusian derby at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.