Zidane has been using almost the same XI for four years

The 2020-21 La Liga season is eyecatching because of Barcelona and Real Madrid's poor results. In the case of Real Madrid, it is also interesting that the XI used by Zinedine Zidane has a lot of plyers from the 'old guard'. 

Those players are Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos and Benzema. Seven of the eleven footballers the Frenchman usually puts from the start also played in the 2017 and 2018 Champions League finals. And some of them are playing very well. 

Benzema, for example, is very used to playing either the number '9' or '10' role. In the midfield, Kroos and Modric have managed to keep youngsters like Fede Valverde and Odegaard out of the side. At the back, Ramos, who is yet to sign a new deal, continues to be important. 

They are not always getting them the results though. This Real Madrid side have lost three times more than the one last season at this stage of the campaign. They have been beaten six times compared to two last term. Despite this, they are still not far off Atletico. 

One of the reasons why Zidane is putting so much faith in his 'old guard' is because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the summer transfer window, the club decided not to make any signings in order to protect their finances, despite originally planning to. That means the Frenchman has to work with what he has got.