MADRID, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid return to league action on Wednesday when bottom of the table Leganes visit the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Leganes travel after a 1-0 win over Mallorca on Saturday gave them their first win of the campaign and B-team coach Luis Cembranos will again be in the dugout for the visitors who continue their search for a permanent replacement for Mauricio Pellegrino.
Dimiitrios Siovas will however miss the short trip to the center of Madrid as he was injured in Leganes' last game.
Real Madrid go into the match following the postponement of the 'Clasico' against FC Barcelona at the weekend and should therefore be a lot fresher than their rivals.
The lack of a game at the weekend allowed the press to continue speculating about the future of several Madrid players, such as Isco and Gareth Bale.
Bale will miss out again on Wednesday due to the calf injury he picked up on international duty a fortnight ago and made headlines for a trip to the UK and also for the revelation that he has asked the club to stop publishing medical reports on his injuries.
Although questions of privacy no doubt play their role in Bale's request, which the club has accepted, it remains to be seen whether it is a good idea to keep the reasons for his absence from the team a secret given that some fans already question his commitment to Real Madrid.
With Bale again unavailable, Zinedine Zidane will play Karim Benzema in attack, with either Vinicius Jr or Rodrygo on the left wing.
Luka Modric should return to action while Fede Valverde, Casemiro and Tony Kroos all have chances of starting.
Wednesday begins a run of three home games in a week for Real Madrid, with Betis (who are also struggling) visiting the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday, before Galatasaray are in town on November 6th for a vital Champions League tie.
If Real Madrid win all three of those games it should lift some of the pressure from Zidane, but any slip-ups and the rumors of Jose Mourinho's return will only gain intensity.
