Cristiano Ronaldo among Real Madrid absentees

Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Real Madrid squad for Saturday's La Liga clash with Deportivo La Coruna, while Karim Benzema and Luka Modric have also been rested by Zinedine Zidane.

Real Madrid will enter this weekend's fixtures six points above second-placed Barcelona in the table after the 1-1 draw in El Clasico last time out.

However, following tough matches against Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund over the last seven days, Zidane has taken the opportunity to rest Ronaldo, Modric and Benzema ahead of the Club World Cup later this month.

Gareth Bale and Fabio Coentrao are also still on the sidelines through injury, but Dominican international Mariano Diaz has been included as a striking option alongside Alvaro Morata.

European Cup holders Real Madrid, who are still unbeaten in all competitions this season, will travel to Japan for the Club World Cup next week.