The mother of all derbies, the El Clasico. Barcelona go up against Real Madrid. The two biggest clubs in Spain come together to battle it out over ninety minutes to see who reigns supreme.
The game will be played out at Barca’s home ground the majestic Nou Camp and a four point gap hovers between first and second placing in the Primera Liga table. Madrid have been playing like a compact unit under new manager Bernd Schuster while Rijkaard’s men have had trouble gaining points away from Nou Camp.
Barcelona team news:
With the poor form of Brazillian forward Ronaldinho,Frank Rijkaard has kept the samba king warming the bench for their last two games but with Lionel Messi ruled out through injury, Rijkaard has told the media that it is a battle between Mexican starlet Giovanni Dos Santos and Ronaldinho to start upfront alongside Samuel Eto’o.
A surprise inclusion in the Barca squad might be former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry who has returned to training on Tuesday. Edmilson has also managed to train this week but this game is too close for him to make a comeback in. Xavi and Andrea Iniesta will most likely be the chosen pairing in central midfield while Yaya Toure patrols the midfield and protects the back four of Gabriel Milito, Carlos Puyol, Eric Abidal and Rafael Marquez.
The only selection headache for Rijkaard is whether to opt for the Gianluca Zambrotta or put Puyol at right-back like he has experimented in recent matches. If Puyol does slot in at right-back, Marquez will go into the middle while Zambrotta will warm the bench.
Real Madrid team news:
Bernd Schuster is relishing the chance to take on his former employees and put one over them as he brings his very impressive Madrid outfit to Nou Camp. Schuster rested nine of his first team players for the midweek Copa Del Rey match against Alicante.
The team pretty much picks itself in terms of form with captain Raul having a renaissance season after suffering confidence setbacks under Fabio Capello. Ruud Van Nistelrooy will once again be the source of goals for Madrid while Robinho drifts in from the left to provide the extra man upfront. Baptista will continue in his central midfield role as he has been in good form the last two games and his likely partner will be Mahmadou Diarra and Dutch playmaker Wesley Snjeider. The trio will form the triangle midfield while Robinho and Raul flanks Van Nistelrooy to make it a 4-3-3 formation which easily switches back to a 4-5-1 when defending. At the back, Iker Casillas who was hit by thrown objects from the crowd at Bilbao two weeks ago will keep goal for the visitors while Sergio Ramos starts at right-back. Fabio Cannavaro and Pepe will hold forte in centre defence.
The only real big selection headache for Schuster is whether to choose the attack-minded Marcelo or to play it safe and use Miguel Torres. Another option in defence is Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze who has yet to make the desired impact at Madrid.
Prediction:
A four point gap could grow to a massive seven if Madrid manage to come away from Camp Nou with three points but having said that, Ronaldinho and Co. know that defeat will cause their fans shame and might just be the cue for the axe to drop on their coach.
So with neither side wanting to lose, an exciting game of open attacking football can be anticipated with both sides getting on the scoresheet.
High-scoring draw of 2-2 on the cards maybe?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment