Real Madrid can almost sniff qualification to the round of 16 and they can do something about it when they visit Legia Warsaw on Wednesday. Their Champions league form suggests they will have absolutely no problem in doing that. Legia have had a disastrous Champions league, where they are yet to earn a point. They have begun their campaign with 3 straight defeats.
Real Madrid sits on level points with German giant Borussia Dortmund, who are likely to join the Los Blancos in the next stage.
Legia’s only victory over Spanish opponents in eight attempts came in the 1970/71 European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-finals against Club Atlético de Madrid. Real Madrid thrashed Legia 5-1 in the reverse fixture and are also currently on the top of the La Liga table with 24 points, one point above Barcelona. They go to Legia at the back of a 4-1 away win over Deportivo Alaves, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace.
Defence
Zidane started with a strong first team in the La Liga and is expected to deploy the same against Legia. He had Fabio Coentrao on the bench, who has returned from a long-term injury. He is expected to take part in the game considering Legia is an easy opposition but from the bench. We expect Marcelo, Pepe, Rafael Varane and Daniel Carvajal to for the back line. Madrid are without Sergio Ramos at the back but that is unlikely to be a problem on Wednesday.
Midfield
Madrid’s midfield looks sorted with Isco and Kovacic fitting in pretty well this season in Luka Modric’s absence. They are expected to continue to take their position behind the front three. There is an outside chance of James Rodriguez will be named in the starting lineup, who despite putting a decent performance in the midweek remained an unused substitute in the weekend. Kroos will take his position in the central midfield as the anchor and there seems to be no replacement for him at the moment.
Marco Asensio has also been noteworthy in his performances, which have mainly come from the bench or in the midweek cup ties. Zidane might use him from the bench once the win is secured.
Attack
The trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale will be starting against Bilbao unless they suffer from injuries in the training. Zidane will expect his attackers to run a riot against the opponent, repeating last week’s performance.
Alvaro Morata scored yet again against Alaves and is giving a hard time to Zidane for selection. He has become a regular super sub this season.
