Real Madrid vs Napoli, 2017 Champions League: Predicted lineups, team news and prediction

The last few weeks have not been good for Real Madrid, especially after Los Blancos lost away against Sevilla when they got the lead with just 10 minutes left to play. Then, Zidane's men got knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Celta Vigo, who even managed to beat them at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Now it's time for Real Madrid to make a statement and earn a convincing win against Napoli. They need to prove they can still complete a good performance against a Napoli side who have been surprisingly good this season with players like Mertens, Callejon and Hamsik playing the best football of their careers.

Zidane will most likely go back to the 4-3-3 formation and forget all about the experiments he's made lately with five defenders on the pitch. Casemiro, Modric and Kroos are all expected to start in the midfield and that alone should allow Los Blancos to control the tempo of the game and generate plenty of scoring opportunities for the attackers. It will also be important for Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to have a good game in order to gain some momentum.

Possible line-ups

Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modrić; Vázquez, Benzema, Ronaldo.

Out: Bale (match fitness)

Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Koulibaly, Albiol, Ghoulam; Zieliński, Diawara, Hamšík; Callejón, Mertens, Insigne.

Misses next match if booked: Koulibaly

Prediction

Real Madrid 2 (Benzema, Ramos) - 0 Napoli

How to watch

Available TV: FOX Sports 2 (USA), BeIN Sports (Spain).

Available streaming: FOX Sports GO (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a huge offer for new members and Managing Madrid readers).

For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.