Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Part IV

Tonight is the final instalment of El Clasico for this season. Barcelona hold a two goal advantage returning to the Camp Nou where they are expected to finish off the job and advance to the Champions League final. Many will be hoping that we get to see some real football tonight after the rather fractious affair at the Bernabeu last week.

I am fascinated to see how Jose Mourinho approaches tonight’s game. There is surely no point in playing conservatively as they are already losing so will he set out his team to attack Barca with speed and precision? If I were to pick a Madrid side tonight I would start with the majority of their attacking midfielders. I would like to see only Alonso in front of the back four with Kaka, Ozil, Ronaldo and one of their strikers all starting.

It would give them incredible speed on the break which is all they are likely to achieve. With the game being played at the Camp Nou the possession stats are going to favour Barcelona by a ratio of 3:1 at least. When Madrid have the ball they need to move it quickly, and accurately to their creative players. For all Barcelona’s brilliant passing and pressing they are vulnerable and must be exploited if Real are to avoid defeat. However, going all-out attack too early could end the tie very quickly if it doesn’t go to plan.

Both clubs lost in La Liga at the weekend, but rested players so not too much notice should be taken of that. The Catalan’s welcome back Andres Iniesta to the squad after missing the first leg through injury. Also back in the squad is Eric Abidal who had surgery a mere 6 weeks ago to remove a tumour from his liver.

It should be another enthralling game, featuring some of the world’s best players. Hopefully it will not become all about bad tempered players and refereeing decisions as the last game did.

Arsenal vs Barcelona - a preview

The game at the Emirates tomorrow night epitomises the term ‘mouth watering’. It will see possibly the greatest club side in history against the most attractive English side around. Last season we were treated to 180 minutes of utterly spell binding football that left everyone who watched open mouthed. There will be no defensive tactics employed – this will simply be a matter of who is the best attacking side.

For me it really is no contest; Barcelona sit at the top of La Liga and are currently the best side in the world. Their side boasts all 3 of the final Ballon d’Or nominees, the best striker in the world and one of the best up and coming coaches in world football. The style of football the Catalans play makes everyone envious and of the many imitations around Arsenal are the closest.

The game at the Emirates last season was the definition of a game of 2 halves. The first half hour was one of the best periods of football in a game I have witnessed in my entire life and the biggest irony of it all was that the much maligned Manuel Almunia kept Arsenal in the game (it could have been ten by half time without him). A rare tactical master stroke from Wenger then saw Arsenal score one and then a 2^nd after the introduction of Walcott; Arsenal could even have won the game at the end which simply did not seem possible after 30 minutes.

This season’s encounter should see Barcelona advance to the quarter finals but Arsenal are such underdogs that I really believe anything is possible. There is always a worry for me when teams are such overwhelming favourites and the team from north London are capable of shocking the entire world. Having said this not one player in the Arsenal squad would get into the Barcelona team although Fabregas and Nasri would certainly come into contention but in reality their counterparts are just better players.

We should see plenty of goals on Wednesday night as neither side would say they are defensively sound. The loss of Puyol for the first leg could prove crucial as Abidal is certainly suspect and Arsenal should look to isolate him at every opportunity. The problem is how you stop Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, Xavi and Villa from playing it round you. In truth I just cannot see how Arsenal can win over 2 legs; they may win tomorrow night but I think it will be a question of how many Barcelona score in the Camp Nou.