Who will Ancelotti leave on the bench to start Bale?

With their powerful 5-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano last Saturday, Real Madrid achieved their thirteenth consecutive one, which is Ancelotti's longest winning streak since he arrived in Madrid. Since they were defeated by Atlético de Madrid in the first league derby, Los Blancos have improved their performance so drastically that they are, right now, considered by many to be the best team in the world.

It was obvious that Real Madrid's level was not the one they were showing in the first league games, and so the progress was expected, but I doubt that anyone could have foreseen such a dominant streak so early in the season. In fact, the past FIFA break when Ancelotti's plane seemed to start its takeoff and the injuries of some very important players could have cut this improvement, but the Eyebrow was always able to find a solution in Real Madrid's fantastic roster.

As of today, however, most of our players are available, and in particular Bale's recovery will have a tremendous impact in Real Madrid's lineup configuration. Los Blancos displayed their best football of the season against Liverpool and Barcelona, with the 4-4-2 that featured Isco and James in the wings, and one of those (which are, currently, at the same level, as Ancelotti said in an interview a few nights ago) should hit the bench for the Welshman to enter the lineup, as he will likely do in the most important games.

Ancelotti had proved that his favorite lineup for this season was based in the 4-3-3 system, with James in the midfield and the BBC upfront. Isco could easily take James's spot in the midfield, as he did, for example, against Borussia Dortmund last season, but Ancelotti has hinted lately that he might be ready to perform in a more reserved way and take Modrić's spot. I don't think we will get to see this approach soon, but be ready for some experiments in the next weeks.