Which Players Deserve a Place in Real Madrid's XI After Early-Season Exploits?

Real Madrid continued their winning start to the season on Wednesday with a victory over Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League, but the manner of victory left head coach Zinedine Zidane less than impressed, and it seems likely the former France international will make changes to his lineup over the coming days.

A busy period sees Los Blancos play four games in nine days, starting with a trip to Espanyol on Sunday in LaLiga and following it up with a home game against Villarreal, a visit to Las Palmas and a second Champions League group-stage game, away to Borussia Dortmund.

Rotation will be necessary simply to maintain fitness, as well replace those who are playing below their best level, but early in the season, the emphasis should be on those who have performed particularly well and who deserve a spot in the starting XI more often than not.

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This is our starting XI for tonight's match against @SportingCP_en.#RMUCL #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/VAS87NPQg4

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) September 14, 2016"

The 10 outfield players against Sporting made up the first-choice lineup from last season, and anybody wanting regular game time needs to displace one of those.

Probable Absences

Gareth Bale is a likely absentee for the trip to RCDE Stadium, with Jose Felix Diaz of Marca reporting the club is taking a "no-risk" strategy on his bruised hip.

The wide forward has been a cornerstone of the early-season success for Madrid in LaLiga, though he missed out on the UEFA Super Cup success after returning to pre-season training too late to take part.

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Cristiano Ronaldo also missed training in the buildup to the Espanyol game, though such instances have occurred previously and the Portuguese forward still ends up featuring; on the other hand, it's accepted that he'll have to step down from his role of playing every 90 minutes at whatever cost this year in order to preserve his fitness and energy levels for when it matters.

With Espanyol usually a team ready to roll over for Real Madrid, perhaps this is an ideal time to put that plan to rest Ronaldo into action.

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Isco looking good in training at Valdebebas. Coentrao playing a full part. No sign again of Ronaldo or Bale.

— Alex Kirkland (@alexkirkland) September 17, 2016"

Elsewhere, Fabio Coentrao is back in training, but there are mixed reports about when he'll be ready to play. Manu Sainz of AS stated that he will not make Real Madrid's squad for the Espanyol match and still needs more training fitness, while Marca suggested Zidane has not yet decided and he could be involved.

Staked a Claim

There are two players not in the strongest Real Madrid XI from last season who have done more than enough in the early weeks to suggest they could quickly come into the side and stay there if given the chance and another two who have shown they warrant more game time.

Marco Asensio is the first, the replacement for Ronaldo in the early weeks of the 2016/17 campaign when the Portuguese star was still recovering from the injury he suffered in the Euro 2016 final.

Asensio has shown a mixture of creativity, flair, vision and incision from the left side of midfield, a truly quality addition to the side's offensive play. But he has also helped out tremendously with defensive work.

Capable of leading a counter-attack, exploiting spaces between the lines and not shy about getting shots away, Asensio has already made himself a fan favourite, and he will certainly get plenty of time on the pitch this season.

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In the four upcoming games, he should be a certainty to start at least one of them, be it against Espanyol—with whom he was on loan last season—or Las Palmas. Ronaldo may be rested for one, but Asensio has also played centrally to good effect. His versatility, as much as his quality, may ensure he's one of the first players Zidane turns to in the next month thanks to the 20-year-old's fine start to the season.

Additionally, Alvaro Morata has had a big impact on the attack and deserves to come straight back into the XI.

Naturally, Zidane has to strike a balance; he needs his best-performing forwards on the pitch, but he also has to help Karim Benzema return to full fitness, which he must be on the pitch to do.

It's likely Morata and Benzema will swap appearance time for a period, but it's the Spaniard who has started the season not only playing well individually, but also doing an important job for the team with his movement and work rate.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

A late goal on Wednesday also makes a case that he should be starting, helping the team get in front in matches and then letting Benzema come on to work hard to regain fitness later on.

Remember Me?

If Asensio and Morata are the two definite options to make a start or two, James Rodriguez is on the verge of that mix in terms of deserved game time—but he may leapfrog both into the starting lineup thanks to Bale's injury-enforced absence.

James has performed well off the bench more than once already this term, and Zidane spoke after the Sporting game about the Colombian's involvement, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC: "James has not been starting games, but he can. What I value is the day-to-day work, and James is doing that well. He will get his chances. Today, he came on and made the difference. I am happy with his performance. Every month we see the player he is."

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It is James' ability to create danger in the final third, with intelligent balls into the box and his own propensity to run behind the defensive line, that made him one of the game's most promising attacking talents when Madrid signed him in 2014.

Those same qualities will likely see him feature from the right side of attack in Bale's absence. It's not the No. 10's best role, but being in the XI is a big step forward for him after almost a year of uncertainty. He'll be in on merit, and a strong performance would only aid him in reclaiming a regular position.

The final player who has impressed, but who will have to continue to wait for more chances, is Mateo Kovacic.

Having starting the year in the team as Toni Kroos was absent, the Croatian was impressive with his driving runs into the channel, his forceful nature in the middle and his willingness to quickly link play.

He performed well in the 4-4-2 system of pre-season and more than played his part once competitive action got under way—but Kroos is already looking far better than last term, having been shifted into a more involved offensive role.

Kovacic will be a rotation option in the middle, which is more than he was last season under Zidane, but he will need patience and consistency when given his opportunities.

The same could be said of Nacho in defence, who performed well when called upon, while the Pepe vs. Raphael Varane battle looks set to continue at centre-back.

Real's players will all be needed over the course of the season, but with a busy week or so ahead, it is James, Asensio and Morata who have established a right to feature more heavily in the starting XI.

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