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Midfield
The midfield is the most stockpiled yet the most fragile part of Real’s squad this season is the midfield. The midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric is likely to be kept untouched when available, but it is the presence of inconsistent and inexperienced backups that makes the situation tricky.
To begin with, there is no defensive midfielder to cover for Casemiro. Marcos Llorente was recklessly sold to Atletico Madrid for €30m and no one was purchased to fill in for the Brazilian destroyer. Another youngster who received some first-team minutes last season was Federico Valverde. He has been tasked with deputising for Kroos when the German metronome is unavailable or needs rest.
Luka Modric will most likely be Real’s creative engine this season, even at the age of 34. Isco Alarcon and James Rodriguez (who don’t exactly play the same role as him) will be waiting on the sidelines to take over from the Ballon d’Or holder. It is this lack of dependable alternatives that makes the midfield look insubstantial.
Attack
It looked like Karim Benzema was finally set free after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, scoring 30 goals last season. Nevertheless, it was a smart move to bring in Luka Jovic to succeed the ageing Frenchman in the long term. Another possibility this season is Zidane going for a combination of two strikers, with both Benzema and Jovic starting upfront. It has been made possible by Mariano Diaz, who ended up staying after weeks of speculation over his future. Mariano will be behind both Benzema and Jovic in the pecking order. It's safe to say that Real have enough options available for the no.9 spot.
Eden Hazard was signed this summer after years of attempting to do so and will automatically be a starter on the left-wing once he returns from injury. He is expected to make an immediate impact on a Real Madrid attack that lacked creativity last season. Vinicius Jr. will be Hazard's understudy and will hopefully look to learn a lot from the Belgian winger.
The early-season lineups suggest that Zidane will trust Gareth Bale to start on the right-wing after making a public U-turn on his opinion of the Welshman. Again, it is the lack of first-team quality behind Bale that will be a concern for Zidane and co. Marco Asensio tore his ACL in pre-season and might not return until March. Lucas Vazquez has proved to be a useful substitute over the years but his dip in form last season suggests that he cannot be consistently relied upon. Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo Goes are certainly not ready to compete for starting spots week in, week out.
