Returning Iniesta on bench for El Clasico

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta was left on the bench for the visit of Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday on his return from two months out with a knee injury.

Barca coach Luis Enrique named the same side from last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad, despite describing that display as the worst of his tenure.

Cristiano Ronaldo leads the Madrid attack alongside Karim Benzema and Lucas Vazquez in the absence of the injured Gareth Bale.

The spotlight will be on the Portuguese even more than usual as he was accused on Friday of hiding 150 million euros in tax havens in Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands in leaked documents obtained by German weekly Der Spiegel.

Barcelona (4-3-3):

xMarc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Andre Gomes, Ivan Rakitic; Lionel Messi (captain), Luis Suarez, Neymar

Real Madrid (4-3-3):

Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Isco; Lucas Vazquez, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo