Only few grasped what Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has been doing ever since the current season began and it wasn’t until recently that I understood what has been going on under our very noses.

The French coach has been searching for a reliable and consistent eleven ever since the season began and I think he has found it. The last time Zidane had a trusted eleven was in 2016, when Cristiano Ronaldo was still at the club. With that eleven, he conquered Europe and Spain before taking the exit door.

Some of those players Zidane established a reliable eleven with has either left or lost form and the French coach is forced to start all over again. It appears Thubiat Courtois is his trusted goal keeper. Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane his trusted central backs. Dani Carvajal and Marcelo are indisputable as always in Zidane’s line up provided they are 100% fit.

Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Modric still appear to be Zidane’s trusted midfield but it appears age is catching up on Modric hence the inclusion of Fede Valverde as his replacement.

The attack has got summer galactico signing Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema and a fit Gareth Bale who is currently being replaced by Rodrygo in his absence through injury.

Players like Vinicius Junior, Lucas Vasquez, James Rodriguez and Isco Alarcon all pose a huge headache for Zidane but the French coach is known to respect and prefer balance over class. We are likely to see less of these aforementioned classic stars as the season gets into its crucial stages. Opportunity given to them against Mallorca appears to be the last not until there is an unimportant match or other starters are unavailable.

Zidane is likely to produce the same lineup he used in midweek against Real Betis tomorrow but as we are well aware of, the French man acknowledges the importance of rotation but do not expect much changes, the season in currently in “hot mode”.

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