Real Madrid will look to take its first Champions League victory of the year when it plays Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Gareth Bale made his Madrid debut this weekend in a 2-2 draw against Villarreal, but Coach Carlo Ancelotti has hinted that he could start on the bench on Tuesday.
"We must be careful with Bale, who played 60 minutes after a difficult pre-season," Ancelotti said, according to ESPN. "But he had no problems after Villarreal, his condition is not bad, but we must just think a little before putting him on the pitch."
Another lineup concern for the Italian is in net. Diego Lopez has gotten the call in every Spanish League match thus far, much to the chagrin of Captain Iker Casillas. However, it seems that the wait is over for the Spaniard as he is set to take his first bow for Los Blancos against Galatasaray.
"I have two very good keepers, with a fantastic attitude," Ancelotti announced. "In my opinion Diego deserves to play in La Liga and Iker, for his professionalism and serious attitude, deserves to play in the Champions League. Casillas has a lot of experience. He looks relaxed to me. He will play a good game tomorrow I think, and nothing more. He has everything to put up with the pressure, he has no problem. If both keepers perform well it will stay the same. Diego in La Liga, Iker in the Champions League."
Whether this makes Casillas happy is yet to be seen. The netminder is only guaranteed six starts this year under the current rotation; if Madrid fails to get out of the group stage in its pursuit of La Decima, then the Spanish keeper could be on the bench for most of the year while Lopez plays another 30 plus games.
Prediction: Madrid earns a 2-2 draw against Galatasaray.
Start Time: 2:45 p.m. EST
TV: Fox Deportes
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