Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo will be expected to fire in the goals for Real Madrid, in the absence of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James RodriguezReuters

Real Madrid will want to maintain their top spot in La Liga with a win over Las Palmas on Saturday at the Bernabeu.

Rafa Benitez's men are currently top of the table, albeit only on goal difference, with Barcelona also on the same 21 points after nine matches.

With Barca only playing later on Saturday, Real Madrid can put the pressure back on their rivals with three points at home against Las Palmas.

"It is always nice to see historic sides return to the top-flight and I hope that the fans enjoy it, that it is a good game, that we win, and that from then on things go well for them," Benitez said. "It will be difficult and will depend on what we are able to do.

"They have a new manager that will try to impose his personality. We have to impose our will, quality, and ambition".

"I said at the beginning that it was going to be a league season where the sides at the top lose more points than in the previous seasons. It is not going to be a league season with an awful lot of points.

"Atletico are a really great side, with players that have a lot of quality. They will have to be near the top, and so too will Valencia, Villarreal and Sevilla, sides that can take points from anyone."

With Atletico Madrid dropping points on Friday, it will act as an added motivation for Real as a win will take them four points clear of their neigbours.

No matter how you look at it, there only looks like being one winner in this match, with Las Palmas struggling to cope in the La Liga, having managed just six points from their opening nine matches.

That means they are in the relegation zone, and Real Madrid will be confident of coming away with all three points, even without the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez, who the manager believes are doing well in recovery.

"All of the players we have right now with problems have their recovery programs and schedules," Benitez said of the growing injury situation at Real Madrid. "The progress is going as expected and we do not want to rush things.

"We want the players to be perfect. There is no point forcing a situation if we believe that there is no point in doing so."

Where to Watch Live

Real Madrid vs Las Palmas is scheduled for a 4 pm local time (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 11 am ET) start. Sony Kix will show the La Liga match live in India, with the online live streaming option on Livsports.

Audience in the Middle East, North Africa, USA, Canada and Australia will be able to watch Real Madrid play Las Palmas live on Bein Sports, while the live stream option is on Bein Sports Connect. Spain viewers can catch the match live on Canal+ and Movistar.

Viewers in the UK can watch the La Liga match live on Sky Sports, while the action can also be live streamed on Sky Go.