This is going to be a far from straightforward season for Real Madrid and new coach Julen Lopetegui. The club as a whole are still reeling from the summer departures of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The squad has not been strengthened to such an extent that you would feel confident of predicting that Real are about to land a fourth consecutive European title. But they have avoided a group-of-death situation in the Champions League draw and should have a straightforward path to the knockouts.
Last season they did not get going until the last 16 and struggled in a group containing Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund.