The 34-year-old has scored four times and registered one assist in nine appearances for Los Blancos during the 2022-23 campaign, including three goals in five league outings.

Benzema has only played in one of Real Madrid's last four league games, though, missing out against Mallorca and Atletico Madrid due to a muscular problem.

Meanwhile, he was rested against Getafe last weekend, with the striker not risked after being forced to miss Friday's training session with fatigue.

Benzema played the full 90 minutes of his side's 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, and he is expected to be in the starting XI for El Clasico this weekend.

Here, Sports Mole has taken a look at how the centre-forward has fared against Barcelona in the past, facing the Catalan side on more occasions than any other side in his professional career.

Karim Benzema celebrates scoring for Real Madrid on August 28, 2022 © Reuters

Benzema has faced Barcelona 41 times during his career, boasting a record of 13 wins, 10 draws and 18 defeats against them, scoring 11 times in the process and providing 10 assists.

In La Liga, the centre-forward has tackled the Catalan side on 25 occasions, boasting a record of eight wins, five draws and 12 defeats, scoring seven goals and providing four assists.

Meanwhile, he has also faced Barcelona on six occasions in the Copa del Rey and seven times in the Spanish Super Cup, enjoying mixed success.

Benzema has won one, drawn three and lost two of his six outings against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, while he has been victorious in four of his seven Spanish Super Cup games with Real Madrid's rivals, drawing once and suffering two defeats.

Karim Benzema celebrates scoring for Real Madrid on August 20, 2022 © Reuters

Somewhat surprisingly, the striker has never faced Barcelona in the Champions League during his time with Los Blancos, as he was an unused substitute during both legs of the semi-final between the two sides in 2010-11.

The Frenchman did face the Catalan side on three occasions in the European Cup during his time at Lyon, though, suffering two defeats, including a 6-3 aggregate loss in the last-16 stage of the 2008-09 competition.

Benzema's first La Liga appearance against Barcelona came in 2009, suffering a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou, while he did not enjoy a league win over Blaugrana until 2012 - a 2-1 victory at Camp Nou.

The striker missed his side's 4-0 loss to Barcelona at Bernabeu in the league last season due to a calf problem, but he captained Los Blancos to a 2-1 success at Camp Nou in the early part of the campaign.

Benzema has found it difficult to score against the Catalan outfit in the league in recent years, though, netting just once against them in Spain's top flight since 2016.