Isco and Marcelo return for Real Madrid as goal drought leaves Julen Lopetegui on brink

There is no more margin of error for Julen Lopetegui at Real Madrid. After three defeats and a draw in four games and 409 minutes without a goal, Saturday’s match at home to Levante in La Liga is a must-win affair.

In that respect, the international break may just have come at a good time for Los Blancos and their under-fire coach. Because it gave Isco and Marcelo a period to recover from their respective problems. Both should be back this weekend.

Isco’s absence has coincided with all four of those poor results and also Spain’s first defeat under Luis Enrique – Monday night’s 3-2 loss to England in the Uefa Nations League in Seville .

The midfielder’s last appearance came in the 1-0 at home to Espanyol and since then, Madrid have failed to score. And after the 1-0 defeat to Alaves prior to the international break, Lopetegui lamented “key absences”.

He was referring, among others, to Isco. The 26-year-old established himself as an important player for Spain under Lopetegui, having previously not featured in a major tournament for La Roja, and he starred with a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Argentina back in March.

The midfielder is essential to the football Lopetegui likes to play and he had scored in back-to-back games – against Athletic Club and Roma – prior to the Espanyol match. Without him, Real have been unable to unlock defences.

Isco has been sidelined after undergoing an operation for acute appendicitis. “It’s bad luck,” Lopetegui said last month. “He was in a great moment.”

So were Real Madrid. Before those four games without a win, Los Blancos had earned rave reviews for their performance against Roma in the Champions League and Isco was at the heart of that attacking exhibition.

In his absence, Lopetegui’s side have lost 3-0 at Sevilla, drawn 0-0 at home to Atletico in the derby and gone down 1-0 away to CSKA Moscow and Alaves.

On Tuesday, the midfielder showed his coach and team-mates just what they had been missing as he threaded an extraordinary pass through three defenders to set up Marcelo for a goal in training. It was an example of the kind of inspiration lacking in his absence.

And the fact that Marcelo was on the end of it, cutting inside from the left, also seemed symbolic. The Brazilian was dreadful defensively in Real’s 3-0 loss in Seville, limping off towards the end with a calf problem, but he remains a pivotal part of their attacking plans.

When rival sides defend deep and in numbers with a low block, Real rely on their full-backs to create openings and in recent weeks, both Marcelo and Dani Carvajal have been out.

Against Atletico, Alaves and CSKA Moscow, the Brazilian would have been extremely useful to break down those teams. So too Carvajal, who is still sidelined, although summer signing Alvaro Odriozola offers a similar threat going forward.

Marcelo, however, has no replacement at Real, and his return will be a big boost for Lopetegui and a Madrid side struggling for goals.

Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, who both went off injured at Alaves in Los Blancos' last game, are in contention for a return on Saturday, but Lopetegui will want to manage their fitness carefully at the start of a crucial eight-day period which begins with Levante, before a Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday and then the Clasico away to Barcelona the following Sunday.

That period could very well determine the coach’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu and his first priority will be to get his side scoring again. The return of Isco and Marcelo should help