MADRID, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane travels to Villarreal on Sunday in a game which could go a long way to deciding the short-term future of the club.
Zinedine Zidane's side make the trip to the east coast of Spain after a start to the season which saw them kick off with a convincing 3-1 victory away to Celta Vigo, only to slip back to the poor performances of pre-season with a 1-1 draw at home to Valladolid last weekend.
That result saw Zidane openly questioned for the first time in the pro-Real Madrid press, which highlighted a possible conflict for club President Florentino Perez over the failure to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United - the one player Zidane is thought to have really wanted this summer.
However, rather than Pogba, the past week has been filled with stories of Madrid's pursuit of Neymar Jr from Paris Saint Germain, although the Brazilian forward seems to favor a return to his former club FC Barcelona.
Meanwhile the future of goalkeeper Keylor Navas is also up in the air, while Mariano Diaz will also probably leave the club before the end of the transfer window, which isn't helping dressing room stability.
Zidane's handling of young winger Vinicius Jr has also been questioned, with the coach accused of asking too much defensive work from the teenager who was one of the few bright spots last season.
It's also been another poor week on the injury front, with Isco joining James Rodriguez, Brahim Diaz and Eden Hazard in suffering a muscle injury, while Marco Asensio is a long-term absentee.
On a more positive note, Luka Modric will be back after a suspension to take his place alongside Tony Kroos and Casemiro in the Real Madrid midfield in Villarreal against a rival that has shipped six goals in their opening two matches of the season.
Real Madrid will hope that Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will be able to exploit those weaknesses, but Madrid will have to tighten up at the back themselves to keep players such as Santi Cazorla, Gerard Moreno, Karlo Toko Ekambi and Samuel Chukwueze at bay.
If Real Madrid go back to the capital with three points from Villarreal, the rumblings will die down over the international break, but a different result will make for a difficult fortnight at the Santiago Bernabeu.
