Karim Benzema returns to Real Madrid squad ahead of Madrid derby against Atletico

Real Madrid will travel to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium for the second leg against Atletico on Sunday. The Madrid derby has been highly spoken about in Spain with many suggesting that it could decide the La Liga title. 

Real Madrid have endured a difficult spell in recent weeks due to injuries to senior players in the squad. But there seems to ba boost with the return of Los Blancos top scorer Karim Benzema. 

Going into the game on Sunday, Real Madrid are third in the standings and five points behind Atletico Madrid. 

It's been gathered that Karim Benzema is expected to start for the first time since been out due to a muscle after scoring in a 2-0 win over Valencia on February 14.

While confirming the return of Benzema, Zidane said: 'Karim will be with us tomorrow. We all know how important he is to us - he is vital to our system of play, especially when we have the ball.

'He is a joy to watch and to coach. When he arrived here there was a lot of hype about him, and more than 10 years later we can all see the player he is and how he's improved.'

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be without trio of Eden Hazard, captain Sergio Ramos and right back Dani Carvajal due to injuries. 

Zidane went ahead to stress on the importance of the game against Diego Simeone's side. 

'We are treating it like a final, like we do every game as we always want to win. But whatever happens we're going to stay alive in the title race,' Zidane added.

Real Madrid Full squad

GK: Courtois, Lunin, Altube

Defenders: Militao, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Mendy, Odriozola

Midfielders: Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Isco

Strikers: Benzema, Asensio, Vazquez, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Duro