Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is expected to rotate his side for Saturday's La Liga clash with Espanyol.

Los Blancos would be confirmed as champions this weekend if they avoid defeat to the Catalan outfit, but the match comes just four days before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Manchester City.

Ancelotti will be hoping that Casemiro can start the second leg following his injury issues, so it would be a huge surprise to see him feature here, while David Alaba had to be substituted in the first leg on Tuesday, which Man City won 4-3, through injury, and he misses out here.

Ferland Mendy is likely to be rested, while central defenders Nacho and Eder Militao are both suspended, so Jesus Vallejo could feature alongside Dani Carvajal in the middle of the defence.

Luka Modric could also drop out of the midfield to allow Eduardo Camavinga to start, while Dani Ceballos is also pushing to be involved from the first whistle against Espanyol.

Perhaps Ancelotti's biggest call involves Karim Benzema, who netted a brace against Man City on Tuesday evening to make it 41 goals in all competitions this season.

The forward has had his injury problems in recent weeks, so he could be protected ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior potentially playing as a front three, although Gareth Bale is also an option through the middle.

Eden Hazard remains unavailable for selection, as he recovers from a leg operation, while Luka Jovic is out of the squad, but Mariano Diaz has returned.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Courtois; Vazquez, Carvajal, Vallejo, Marcelo; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Asensio, Rodrygo, Vinicius body check tags ::