Mighty Bayern set to unleash Sanches on Schalke

AFP, BERLIN: Portuguese wonderkid Renato Sanches is in line to make his Bayern Munich debut as the Bundesliga champions go to Schalke 04 on Friday evening.
Bayern head to Gelsenkirchen fresh from starting the season in ominous fashion a fortnight ago by thrashing hapless Werder Bremen 6-0 at the Allianz Arena.
Now they will look to maintain their excellent recent record at the Veltins Arena, where Bayern have not lost since December 2010.
And as Germany warms to the cosy man management of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, fans will also get their first view this weekend of 19-year-old prodigy Sanches, who has now recovered from a thigh injury initially suffered at Euro 2016.
“He's a phenomenon and he's 100 percent fit," Ancelotti confirmed of the former Benfica man, who helped Portugal win the European Championship, beating hosts France in the final.
Bayern's stunning start to the campaign has raised the prospect of a repeat of the 2012-13 season, when they led the way from start to finish under Jupp Heynckes.
But Ancelotti, whose side face Rostov of Russia in their Champions League opener next midweek, warned the Bundesliga champions would need all their players over a busy season.
“The upcoming weeks are going to be tough. We play seven matches in 20 days. It would be important to start with a victory," he said.
“I just focus on tomorrow's game. Right after that I'll start thinking about the Champions League match," said Ancelotti, who will appreciate an extra day's rest ahead of hosting last season's Russian league runners-up.
While Sanches is set to play, Arjen Robben, Kingsley Coman and Jerome Boateng are all out injured for Bayern.
But as if it were not enough for Schalke to be facing Polish targetman Robert Lewandowski, who bagged a hat-trick against Werder, his fellow forward Thomas Mueller set up three goals in that game and netted twice in Germany's 3-0 win over Norway in their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier last Sunday.
Schalke, who finished fifth in Germany last season, have been rebuilding over the summer under new coach Markus Weinzierl, but lost their opener 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Mighty Bayern set to unleash Sanches on Schalke

AFP, BERLIN: Portuguese wonderkid Renato Sanches is in line to make his Bayern Munich debut as the Bundesliga champions go to Schalke 04 on Friday evening. Bayern head to Gelsenkirchen fresh from starting the season in ominous fashion a fortnight ago by thrashing hapless Werder Bremen 6-0 at the Allianz Arena. Now they will look to maintain their excellent recent record at the Veltins Arena, where Bayern have not lost since December 2010. And as Germany warms to the cosy man management of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, fans will also get their first view this weekend of 19-year-old prodigy Sanches, who has now recovered from a thigh injury initially suffered at Euro 2016. Hes a phenomenon and hes 100 percent fit, Ancelotti confirmed of the former Benfica man, who helped Portugal win the European Championship, beating hosts France in the final. Bayerns stunning start to the campaign has raised the prospect of a repeat of the 2012-13 season, when they led the way from start to finish under Jupp Heynckes. But Ancelotti, whose side face Rostov of Russia in their Champions League opener next midweek, warned the Bundesliga champions would need all their players over a busy season. The upcoming weeks are going to be tough. We play seven matches in 20 days. It would be important to start with a victory, he said. I just focus on tomorrows game. Right after that Ill start thinking about the Champions League match, said Ancelotti, who will appreciate an extra days rest ahead of hosting last seasons Russian league runners-up. While Sanches is set to play, Arjen Robben, Kingsley Coman and Jerome Boateng are all out injured for Bayern. But as if it were not enough for Schalke to be facing Polish targetman Robert Lewandowski, who bagged a hat-trick against Werder, his fellow forward Thomas Mueller set up three goals in that game and netted twice in Germanys 3-0 win over Norway in their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier last Sunday. Schalke, who finished fifth in Germany last season, have been rebuilding over the summer under new coach Markus Weinzierl, but lost their opener 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt.