Football doesn’t get much bigger than this. The biggest club
Derby in world football not only with all of the kudos of a victory over your enteral
rivals, but the prize of a chance to win the world’s biggest Club
After the 1-1 draw in La Liga and the extra-time win for
Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final Jose Mourinho's team take on Barcelona
for the third time in two weeks on Wednesday. The two recent meetings between
the sides underlined how little there is to choose between them and it’s still
largely the same tonight.
Madrid, so impressive when tonking Valencia 6-3 at the
Mestalla – The scoreline flatters the hosts - can only come here in the best of
spirits. Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick and Kaka bagged a brace in that
game and it only further underlines the strength of their squad
They’ve more than held their own in the first two games and
while they are seen by many as a typical Mourinho side after they held
Barcelona off (in relative comfort apart from the goal, it must be said) they
created plenty of their own chances and the same was true of the last meeting
between the two sides at the Bernabeu.
Mourinho has already proven that he can shape a side to outmanoeuvre
Barcelona, when taking Inter to a semi – final triumph in this competition last
year and many would claim that Real Madrid are a far superior side.
Not only that, but home advantage is a huge thing for
Madrid. Real Madrid have a flawless home record in the Champions League this
season. They have won all five games so far, scoring 15 times in the process
and are yet to concede a goal at the Bernabeu. To add more credibility to that,
Barcelona
Barcelona, with the title safely in the bag (eight points
clear with head – to head advantage and only 5 games left to go) were able to
ring the changes and still enjoy a 2-0 cruise against Osasuna last week and
they could have easily won the Copa Del Rey & the League meetings – The decisions
that went against them were marginal calls.
Even so, in Clasico terms, things have changed a lot since
that 5-0 thrashing given out at the Camp Nou. Then the difference was there for
the world to see but little more than the odd goal separates them and it’s likely
that a referring call could also prove the difference here – Those with long memories
will recall Barcelona having a goal disallowed in the final moments of the
second leg.
For those wanting to back the Catalans (at a very fair
price) it should be noted that only three sides have won Champions League games
at this stage and Barcelona have only won two away games in the Champions
League this year.
TEAM NEWS
Real Madrid: Apart from the suspension of Ricardo Carvalho,
it’s all good news for Los Blancos. The return of Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain, who
scored five of the six goals against Valencia on Saturday, is massive boost,
although it’s expected that Mourinho will stick largely by the players who
provided so much success in the Copa del Rey final. Raul Albiol, who gave
Barcelona their goal in the League draw, may well reappear.
Barcelona: Defence has never been the strong point of
Barcelona but there has to be concerns about the loss of Adriano, who is out
for rest of the season, Gabriel Milito, who had to be substituted on Saturday
after picking up a calf strain, Maxwell who played the ninety minutes in spite
of suffering with a groin strain while Carles Puyol is still struggling with a
hamstring injury. Iniesta coming back could make all the difference however.
VERDICT
This page is a big fan of both teams and while I’m of the view
that Barcelona could easily have won both games so far, Real Madrid have looked
quite at ease for large parts of the two ties. Chances could be at a premium if
Madrid’s only response to Barcelona’s possession is to run the ball long from
out back and that makes the already tempting draw a huge runner. There was
never much between the two teams anyway and it could be all square after 90 minutes
again.
Advice
2 pts Draw (11/5 Sportingbet)
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