As far as this season's Champions League group stages are concerned, things could not have gone much better for Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti's men have won all four of their matches so far, which has seen them book their place in the knockout stages of the tournament with two games to spare.
One of those encounters sees the holders take on Swiss outfit Basel at St Jakob-Park on Wednesday evening. While there is little riding on the outcome for Los Blancos, there is still plenty to play for from the home team's point of view.
A 4-0 victory over Ludogorets last time out on matchday four has put Paulo Sousa's side in command of the second qualification spot. A win over Madrid would at least guarantee them a place in the Europa League, with a visit to Liverpool last up likely to be a straight shootout for a place in the last 16.
In terms of team selection, Ancelotti may rotate some of his starting lineup, which could see the likes of Fabio Coentrao, Keylor Navas and Sami Khedira all come into the side. There will be no place for Luka Modric, though, because the Croatian picked up a knee injury during the most recent round of international matches, which keep him sidelined until next year.
As for hosting Basel, it is expected that veteran frontman Marco Streller will miss the clash because of a back complaint.
When the two teams met earlier in the competition, Madrid ran out 5-1 winners in the Bernabeu and they also recorded a 2-1 triumph on their last visit to Basel back in 1971.
Basel:
Form in Champions League: WLLWLW
Form in all competitions: DWWWWW
Possible starting lineup: Vaclik; Safari, Suchy, Schar, Xhaka; Gashi, Zuffi, Frei, El Nenny, Gonzalez; Embolo
Real Madrid:
Form in Champions League: WWWWWW
Form in all competitions: WWWWWW
Possible starting lineup: Navas; Ramos, Pepe, Varane, Coentrao; Khedira, Kroos; Bale, Rodriguez, Ronaldo; Benzema
Sports Mole says: 1-3
No Data Analysis info
