Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Gareth Bale will make his long awaited debut for the club against Villarreal on Saturday night.
There had been some doubt as to whether the Welshman would feature having only played half an hour of competitive football so far this season in his country’s 3-0 defeat to Serbia on Tuesday.
However, Ancelotti insisted he will get some playing time in the clash between two of the four sides still with a 100 per cent record in the league this season.
The Italian also ended speculation about where Bale will fit into the Real side by saying he sees him playing from the right side of the attack.
“Bale arrived without doing a normal pre-season, but his physical condition isn’t bad. He will travel with the team and he will play,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}“Bale arrived without doing a normal pre-season, but his physical condition isn’t bad. He will travel with the team and he will play,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}“I need to decide if it is from the start or in the second half. He doesn’t have any problem with injuries, he is excited and is very motivated.“He will almost certainly play on the right.”
There had been suggestions in the Spanish press that Bale could even make his debut at left-back after Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Arbeloa were all injured whilst on international duty.
Ancelotti confirmed though that he will instead opt for Nacho at left-back and that both Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco were fit after recovering from the knocks they picked up on their travels with their national teams.
Eto’o set to make Chelsea debut
LONDON: Jose Mourinho is planning to hand Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o his Premier League debut when Chelsea visit Everton on Saturday.
Eto’o, 32, moved to Stamford Bridge from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in the final week of the transfer window and will join Fernando Torres and Demba Ba in a three-way battle for the central striker role in Mourinho’s team.