ATLÉTICO-REAL MADRID

Atlético-Real Madrid: Koke back for hosts, Carvajal starts for Real

Update: Nov 18th, 2017 13:57 EST

Dani Carvajal makes his first Real Madrid appearance since September as Los Blancos visit Atlético Madrid in the maiden Spanish-capital derby at the Wanda Metropolitano tonight (20:45 CET).

Koke back for Atlético Madrid, three changes for Real

The right-back has missed nearly two months due to a heart infection.

Meanwhile, the return of centre-back Raphael Varane and midfielder Luka Modric are Zinedine Zidane's other two changes to the team that beat Las Palmas two weeks ago.

For hosts Atlético, midfielder Koke comes back into the line-up after recovering from a hamstring problem that has kept him out of action since mid-October.

Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid confirmed line-ups:

Atlético XI: Oblak; Juanfran, Godín, Savic, Lucas; Gabi, Saúl, Koke, Thomas, Correa; Griezmann

Real Madrid XI: Casilla; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Isco; Cristiano, Benzema

Madrid derby live online with AS English

You can follow Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid live online with AS English here.

A survey of AS readers indicated that Atlético fans wanted Stefan Savic to be axed from Diego Simeon's defence, while Real supporters wished to see Karim Benzema relegated to the visiting bench.

AS fan poll: supporters wanted Savic, Benzema dropped

Ahead of the derby, AS gave readers their say on who should start at the Wanda, in a poll that indicated that the fans of both sides were after changes.

Atlético fans wanted Savic out and a three-man defence

According to the results of the survey, Atlético followers wanted to see defender Stefan Savic drop out of the XI, with Diego Simeone switching to three at the back.

Savic received just 2,615 votes, roughly half as many as Los Rojiblancos' most popoular players: Jan Oblak (4,589), Saúl Ñíguez (4,581) and Diego Godín (4,526).

Misfiring forward Antoine Griezmman was the fifth-most voted, with 4,349.

The Atlético XI as chosen by AS readers: Oblak, Juanfran, Godín, Filipe Luis; Gabi, Saúl, Koke, Carrasco, Thomas; Griezmann and Correa.

Real Madrid supporters urged Zidane to drop Benzema

Meanwhile, Real Madrid's fans called on Zinedine Zidane to dispense with Karim Benzema and pick five midfielders to support striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

4,811 readers gave Benzema the nod - a whopping 8,000 fewer than club captain Sergio Ramos, who picked up the highest number of votes (12,244), followed by Isco (12,186) and Cristiano Ronaldo (12,097).

The Real Madrid XI as chosen by AS readers: Casilla; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Asensio, Isco and Cristiano.

Atlético-Real Madrid: Koke back for hosts, Carvajal starts for Real