Real Madrid will play their penultimate pre-season match on Wednesday when they take on Red Bull Salzburg at the Red Bull Arena in Austria.
Zinedine Zidane's side have endured a largely unsuccessful preparation for the new campaign so far but will be looking to build on their 5-3 win over Fenerbahce last time out.
Match preview
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A third-placed finish at the Audi Cup would not have been Madrid's ideal highlight from their pre-season to date, but that is the situation they find themselves in ahead of Wednesday's match.
After finishing a record 19 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga last term, Florentino Perez invested heavily in the squad during the summer with the likes of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy topping the bill for incomings.
Any hopes that such a splurge would immediately see them challenge again have been tempered in recent weeks, though, courtesy of defeats to Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur.
Losing those three matches would have been bad enough, but they conceded 11 goals along the way including seven at the hands of their city rivals in a humiliating International Champions Cup defeat.
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A penalty shootout win over Arsenal was their only reason to cheer until last Wednesday's 5-3 triumph against Fenerbahce, during which Karim Benzema staked his claim for a continued starting spot with a hat-trick.
Indeed, it has been the old boys who have mostly been responsible for Madrid's good moments in pre-season, with Rodrygo the only new arrival to have found the back of the net so far.
Even Gareth Bale, whose future at the club remains shrouded in acrimonious uncertainty, has got himself on the scoresheet, although it is unlikely we have seen the last of his name in the transfer pages this summer as his off-field actions continue to steal the spotlight.
Add to that the ongoing Paul Pogba saga, a reported pursuit of Donny van de Beek and more rumours of a bid for Christian Eriksen, and Madrid are likely to be busy in the transfer market beyond Thursday's English deadline and right up to the September 2 deadline in Spain.
The importance of getting results on the field is growing with each passing week, though, and Wednesday's match represents a good opportunity to make it two wins in a row - something they have not managed in any competition since March.
Salzburg are already well underway in their domestic campaign with three wins from three so far, so they will be in peak condition and ready to spring a shock against such illustrious visitors.
Chelsea also made the trip to the Red Bull Arena last week, though, when they ran out 5-3 winners after racing into a three-goal lead inside 28 minutes.
Salzburg form: WWWWLW
Real Madrid form: LLWLLW
Team News
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As if Real's pre-season campaign had not been disappointing enough, they have also lost Marco Asensio to a cruciate ligament injury which will keep him sidelined until February.
New signing Mendy is also still out after picking up an injury last month, while Brahim Diaz remains sidelined.
There will be plenty of eyes on any inclusion for Bale, who has missed the last two pre-season games due to 'fitness issues' after being told by Zidane that he does not have a future at the club.
Two players who could be welcomed back are Thibaut Courtois and Jovic, although Zidane may be wary of risking them ahead of their La Liga opener against Celta Vigo on August 17.
Salzburg have injury problems of their own despite only just starting their quest for a seventh consecutive league crown, and new boss Jesse Marsch will be without as many as five players on Wednesday.
Smail Prevljak, Albert Vallci, Alexander Walke, Killian Ludwig and Mahamadou Dembele are all sidelined for the home side.
Salzburg possible starting lineup: Stankovic; Farkas, Onguene, Ramalho, Ulmer; Szoboszlai, Bernede, Junuzovic, Minamino; Daka, Haland
Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Navas; Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Valverde; Vazquez, Modric, Hazard; Benzema
We say: Salzburg 1-3 Real Madrid
It has not been a textbook pre-season for Real Madrid, but they still have some serious quality to call upon in their squad and are much the better team here. Clean sheets have been a problem and Salzburg will therefore be confident of scoring, but it is a big ask for them to avoid defeat, particularly with the more important matter of a competitive game looming at the weekend.
Barney Corkhill
