Bale's new task

Carlo Ancelotti has spent some days thinking about what things can and will be changed at Real Madrid after the international break. Names and systems are being considered in full detail until something clicks into place for Carletto.

One idea that's growing on the Italian is dropping Gareth Bale back to play in the position occupied by Angel di María last season.

Balance is already something that Ancelotti was aiming for last year. Perhaps the restructuring of this season's Real side will begin with this tactical switch, which does make some sense if you think about it.

Bale has more legs than James: he covers more ground, he can catch teams out with runs from deep and he's less predictable when he's not stuck out on the right wing. He also has a good understanding of the defensive side of the game from his early days as a left-back.

However, this has to be balanced against the team losing some goalscoring threat and killer instinct at the business end of the pitch. The Welshman might also not be best pleased with the move, having been almost completely free from defensive duties last season. When a striker is told he needs to drop deeper and work harder for the team, then it's only logical that he's not going to be particularly happy with the idea.

It's unlikely that Ancelotti will make this change for the Madrid derby though. The Atlético game has no margin for error, so it wouldn't be a good time to tinker with the team too much.