A team (and a bench) that can't stand comparison

The round of 16. The first round of the Champions League knockout rounds - a phase that Real Madrid got past as they dominated the competition from 2014 to 2018, with four out of five titles. They will be looking to shake off the two eliminations against Ajax and Manchester City in the last couple of years.

Zinedine Zidane's team travel to face Atalanta on Wednesday, diminished by the carousel of casualties, resulting in a young team and an almost amateur bench.

Numerous injuries for the Champions League match

Zidane is so scarce of troops against Atalanta, that only one player from the first team (Mariano Diaz or Isco) will be a substitute. They will share the bench with five Castilla players, four of whom were UEFA Youth League champions six months ago (Victor Chust, Antonio Blanco, Miguel Gutierrez and Sergio Arribas). Former Getafe youngster Hugo Duro completes the list.

The two biggest blows, though, are the absences of Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos. In the last eight seasons, Ramos has only missed the first leg against Schalke in the 2014/15 campaign.

But they will not be the only key names missing. Dani Carvajal is still on the sidelines, Marcelo is out, and so are Eden Hazard, Rodrygo Goes, Eder Militao, Alvaro Odriozola and Fede Valverde.

Both the team and the bench are incomparable with the previous versions of the last 16, which we review here.

Schalke 2013/14 (1-6)

A fantastic night for the BBC trident of Gareth Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, as each player grabbed a brace.

Luka Modric featured alongside Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria. Iker Casillas was in goal. Players like Raphael Varane, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao were only good enough for the bench.

Schalke 2014/15 (0-2)

Carlo Ancelotti's team repeated their visit to Gelsenkirchen a year later in defence of their crown. In defence, only Ramos was absent through injury. Without Alonso or Di Maria, Lucas Silva made his debut as James Rodridguez was also out.

Roma 2015/16 (0-2)

Zidane's debut in the Champions League. Casemiro was on the bench, Bale was injured. James started, with Isco, Toni Kroos and Modric making up the midfield. The defence and goalkeeper were those who would go on to win three Champions Leagues in a row.

Cristiano and Jese Rodriguez were the scorers that night. There was no Danilo, who arrived from Porto to compete with Carvajal for a place in the starting XI.

Napoli 2016/17 (3-1)

An XI almost identical to the one that faced Roma a year earlier, albeit with Isco on the bench and Casemiro in the team.

Los Blancos had a similar bench that night - Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez and Mateo Kovacic, as well as Alvaro Morata. Marco Asensio failed to make the squad list.

Paris Saint-Germain 2017/18 (3-1)

An unforgettable night at the Bernabeu in which the European champions ran into a bogey team in PSG. Bale was benched, Isco started.

Two goals from Cristiano and one from Marcelo were enough for victory. Carvajal was out injured. Bale, Asensio and Lucas came off the bench.

Ajax 2018/19 (1-2)

Los Blancos' last victory in the round of 16 came with Santiago Solari at the helm. Marcelo was dropped for Sergio Reguilon, while Isco missed out. Varane was sidelined with flu and Marcos Llorente was injured. Ramos forced a yellow card in order to miss the second leg, which would prove to be costly.

Manchester City 2019/20 (1-2)

Fans were present for the round of 16 last year. Zidane opted for Ferland Mendy ahead of Marcelo. Isco was chosen ahead of Bale, and surprisingly Valverde was picked instead of Kroos.

Luka Jovic, Bale and Lucas came off the bench. Ramos was sent off, and Los Blancos were unable to overturn the tie at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg.