This article is part of Football FanCast's Monthly Review series, which analyses what managers can learn from the previous month and what the coming month could have in store.

September has been a mixed month for Los Blancos and their coach, Zinedine Zidane.

But with October already in full throttle, Real Madrid won't have much time to ponder on what might have been.

And just by looking at their squad and their schedule, the whole month might be decided by two key things.

Toni Kroos will be key

After a slow start, the Galacticos have finally found the higher gear they've been searching for since the beginning of the campaign.

They currently sit top of the table and are definitely enjoying the view. But despite many hiccups along the way for the Whites, one star has been dominant in most of his recent displays.

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Their German midfield general, Toni Kroos, had to take on a much bigger role in the team with the absence of Luka Modric and it's safe to say he did it with flying colours.

The 29-year-old has registered one goal and one assist in the seven games he played so far in La Liga and has managed 2.3 shots per game on average.

But his contribution doesn't stop there either. Kroos has already deployed 3.3 key passes per game and has accumulated 92.9% passing accuracy in general. When we add 1.9 tackles and 0.7 interceptions per game to that equation, we get a pretty impressive picture of his all-round game.

However, this is only the beginning of the campaign and Kroos' form will definitely affect Real Madrid going forward. He seems to be really driving the team at the moment, so his contributions will be vital over the next month.

El Clasico

One of the biggest challenges Real Madrid will face in October, if not the biggest challenge, will definitely be the trip to the Camp Nou on 26 October.

And it's going to be a real treat for all the fans around the world.

But the outcome of that single game, and we can probably say this without exaggeration, might determine both teams' whole month by itself.

El Clasico is the biggest derby in Spain but also one of the biggest footballing derbies on the planet.

Both Zidane and Ernesto Valverde are most likely already keeping one eye on that specific date, and rightfully so.

Let's wait and see how they do.