MADRID, Sept. 30 -- Real Madrid are favorites to kickstart their Champions League campaign when Bruges visit the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid produced arguably their worst display of the campaign when they were thrashed 3-0 away to Paris Saint Germain in the opening game of the group stage to start calls for coach Zinedine Zidane to lose his job.
Fortunately for Zidane that display in Paris appears to have been the low point and his side have bounced back with wins against Sevilla, Osasuna and Levante and a solid draw away to Atletico Madrid in the city derby on Saturday night.
Although Madrid have usually based their football on their attack, the key factor since Paris is the defensive improvement, which has seen them keep three clean sheets in four games.
Those results have gone a long way to taking the pressure off Zidane and raising morale around the club and Bruges should be relatively easy rivals for Madrid to continue with their form.
Zidane will have to consider whether to play his strongest possible 11 and repeat the side that performed solidly away to Atletico Madrid, or whether to make some squad rotations and give further opportunities to young Brazilians Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo, who was relegated to the B-team at the weekend after his excellent goal against Osasuna.
Nacho Fernandez will probably continue at left back even though Marcelo is returning to fitness, while Luka Modric also has the chance of being fit for the game and will probably get minutes off the bench.
Isco could also make his reappearance after injury as well as Zidane juggles his desire to keep players as fit as possible with the need to produce a display to get the ball rolling in their European ambitions.