Gareth Bale out of Real Madrid vs CSKA Moscow in Champions League

There were many doubts about Real Madrid‘s potential after it lost Ronaldo and coach Zinedine Zidane in the offseason, but the team excelled after the opening loss to Atletico, winning five of its first six games. They’re experts at keeping clean sheets thanks to the experience, leadership and defensive nous they have across the team.

The main worry for Atletico is striker Diego Costa: although he scored twice against Real Madrid in the Supercup, he hasn’t found the net in his last 13 league appearances.

After months of flirting with Barca – even going as far as reaching an agreement with them, depending on who you believe – Griezmann published a video on June 14 documenting his inner conflict, as he tussled with the idea of ditching the Wanda Metropolitano for Camp Nou. No team has led the La Liga standings with such a low number of points after seven games since the 1993-94 season.

Real haven’t won in two consecutive games, being unable to take advantage of Barca’s struggles.

Real Madrid will be aiming to recover from their recent defeat at Sevilla when they host local rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Madrid confirmed Brazil global Marcelo has been diagnosed with a calf problem after being forced off late in their 3-0 defeat to Sevilla on Wednesday.

“It will be hard for all of us to face Real Madrid, but I expect it to be a game which he can make more comfortable for us”, he added. Daily Marca remarked that the European champions have “forgotten how to score”.

“They are on a very positive run, with players returning”, he said of Tuesday’s opponents. With that and the inconsistent nature of their results right now, the price for a Real Madrid win looks a little short.

Shortly after Ryan Giggs’ side take on Spain in an worldwide friendly, they will travel to Dublin where they face an Ireland side in desperate need of a big result on 16 October.

“Vinicius [Junior] is a very young lad with a great future and is taking it one step at a time and when we think he can help us we will use him just like with any player”.

Griezmann attempted an audacious volley that flew over and then came his team’s best chance when he only had Courtois to beat. “We have to change a lot of things and each of us has to give 100 percent”.