Martin Ødegaard is on Real Madrid's list against Almería, Ancelotti confirms

James Rodríguez is shining. Is Ancelotti surprised?

He surprised us all, we knew he had the quality but he has adapted to how the team plays and his season is very, very good. I'm delighted because he's helped the team and he's been humble.

Ancelotti doesn't want to talk about Real Madrid making Chicharito's loan deal a permanent one.

We will talk about this when the season ends, but I must say that I loved how professional he was throughout the season. His commitment was great and this is something very positive for a coach.

Three Castilla players will be on the team's list.

Mayoral, Ødegaard and Llorente will be on the list. Two of them will stay on the bench and they will have a chance to feature. Keylor Navas will play tomorrow as well, but this is not happening because we're playing at home. He could play away too.

Chicharito wasn't given many chances to feature, and Ancelotti admits it was his mistake.

It was my mistake, but the players is helping the squad now and I hope he keeps playing like this.

Real Madrid are not focused on Barcelona's schedule.

This is a do or die match for both teams. The schedule will be really tough after it and we have to get ready for that. Our schedule is tough indeed, but we are confident about playing well, because we will recover some injured players soon and the team is fresh and ready to compete. We aren't thinking about Barcelona dropping points as we need to focus on getting every win.

The Italian coach also confirmed Managing Madrid's report about Bale rejoining the squad this Thursday.

Yes, Bale should be able to feature against Sevilla and Thursday Bale should rejoin the squad. Benzema should train with the group on Sunday and feature against Juventus.

Almería will be hard to beat, Ancelotti says.

Almería have changed, their style has changed with their new coach. They are faster now and I think their last result was good. They are in good form and every team fighting to avoid relegation should be considered.

Ancelotti was asked about Jesé's situation as well and confirmed the Spanish wonder kid will start.

Jesé has taken some time to get ready after his injury. He will play tomorrow.