Cristiano Ronaldo’s month-long absence could bring about a radical change in the FTBL ranking of strikers in La Liga, with Raul now likely to return to first-team action much more often.

Raul scored 2 goals in Real’s 4:2 win over Real Valladolid to become the player with the most games played for the club. The win earned him more than 20 rating points, lifting him to 4th place in the FTBL ranking of Spanish strikers.

Raul is now just 20 rating points from the top tier of La Liga, and he will have a combined plank of less than 30 rating points to beat in his next four games. We believe he is capable of beating double that plank.

Our prediction is that Raul will hit 155-160 points in the rating in the first week of November and will be back in the top chart. What will happen when Ronaldo returns will depend on coach Pelligrini.