A combined Real Madrid and Barcelona bench XI 

Midfielders

Defensive Midfielder - Marcos Llorente (Real Madrid)

Marcos Llorente does his job calmly as a defensive midfielder

Marcos Llorente is another talented player advancing from the youth system of Real Madrid. The defender was a regular member of the La Liga side - Deportivo Alavés during his loan spell in the 2016-17 season of club football. There, he excelled with his tackling and passing, which made Zidane bring him back to the Bernabeu.

Despite playing the role of holding midfielder, he only received six yellow cards in 38 games that he played for Alavés. The Spaniard just committed 56 fouls and was fouled by opposition players on 40 occasions.

Also, he contributed to the attack by giving away three assists. He was outstanding in keeping the possession of the ball and was able to replicate his club form at 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship for Spain.

So far, he has played 278 minutes of club football for Real Madrid and showed the same composure he had last season at Alavés. He started for Zidane's side on three occasions (2 in La Liga and 1 in Copa Del Rey) and hasn't put a foot wrong so far.

Despite his prowess, he will struggle to make frequent appearances in the Madrid's starting eleven due to the presence of Casemiro and Toni Kroos. There have already been many instances wherein he wasn't even present on the bench for Los Blancos.

Central Midfielder - Denis Suárez (FC Barcelona)

Denis Suárez has been brilliant for Barcelona in the limited opportunities he has got

The midfielder returned to FC Barcelona last year after the club used its buy-back clause to bring him back to Camp Nou from Villarreal. Denis is a technically gifted player, capable of taking players on and also provides a threat from set pieces. He has made 32 appearances for the club since then, but many of them came as a substitute.

There were some displays last season when Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta weren't quite at the top of their game. Many felt that Luis Enrique should give the Spaniard a little more time on the pitch.

Still, he only had one start in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League, and that too came in the group stage of the competition. Under Luis Enrique, he scored two goals and provided three assists.

Coming to this season, current Barcelona manager, Valverde has given him some opportunities now and then. The Spaniard has been a part of 9 of Barcelona's fixtures this season and has shown his versatility by playing on the left wing in seven of those.

So far, he has scored twice while also having assisted his teammates thrice, even though he was only in the starting eleven in 3 games. Unarguably a player of his ability deserves much more game time than that.

Central Midfielder - Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)

Dani Ceballos is a bright prospect for Real Madrid

Dani Ceballos is another young Spanish midfielder who has been impressive in the last couple of years. The 21-year-old scored twice on his full debut for Real Madrid against La Liga side, Alavés.

The Spanish under-21 midfielder joined Real Madrid from Real Betis, where he scored two goals and also provided three assists in 25 games that he played.

In the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Ceballos was outstanding for Spain. The Sevilla born midfielder flourished in the midfield and bagged the 'Player of the Tournament' award too.

He was constantly linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid throughout the summer transfer window and consequently joined Los Blancos for a transfer fee of around €18 million. Many Madrid fans see him as a successor of the Croatian - Luka Modric at the club.

Ceballos has been given three starts (2 in La Liga, 1 in Copa Del Rey) by Zinedine Zidane this season. He scored twice in his first start and put in a decent performance in the other two as well. He was the crucial player in Madrid's Copa Del Rey win against Fuenlabrada when the midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro were absent.

Dani Ceballos certainly will spend most of his time on the Madrid's bench as Zidane will understandably prefer Isco or Modric in his place.