El Clásico Preview

With only hours to go before El Clásico excitement is mounting in Madrid, with fans believing this is their one chance of the season to finally catch up with Barcelona, and maybe somehow win a 3rd consecutive La Liga title, something only a couple of months ago was regarded as impossible. Even with their creativity and potent strike-force, Barcelona are now only 4 points ahead of Real Madrid and have a hectic schedule ahead of them with Chelsea to face next Wednesday. The timing of El Clásico could not suit Real better as they try to finally catch the La Liga leaders.

Real are not without their injury problems going into the match though. Guti has been ruled out following a clash in training,along with Sneijder, while Robben and Heinze are only returning from injury and may not be fully fit. Pepe is also out of the game following his 10 match suspension, so Juande Ramos is limited for his starting eleven.

So who will Juande start for the game? No doubt Casillas will be in goal, with a back four likely to be Ramos, Cannavaro, Metzelder and perhaps Torres on the left (if Heinze is not fully fit). Lass and Gago will surely comprise the midfield along with Robben (depending on his fitness) or perhaps Marcelo and Van der Vaart. Higuain, a player who shines on the big occasions, and Raul will likely be upfront. This leaves Ramos with the options of bringing on Huntelaar if things are not going well, and maybe using Salgado in defence if a player gets injured (or if he has to rearrange the defence due to a sending off!).

Pep Guardiola faces a dilemma as regards his starting eleven....will he use his best eleven (Messi, Eto’o, Henry, Iniesta, Xavi) or will he rest any of these because of the Chelsea game next week?? It’s unlikely he’ll leave any of his best players on the bench, as these few days are a pivotal point of their season, so Real must be ready to deal with the threat posed by these players. One player definitely out is Marquez, who was injured in the game against Chelsea on Tuesday.

One advantage Real have going into the game is their belief in their own ability. Only two seasons ago they managed to overturn a deficit and win the League, and they now believe this is again possible. Players have managed to put aside any differences they have while on the pitch and play as a team, something that has not always been possible in the past. The job Juande Ramos has done since taking over from Schuster has been remarkable and he has instilled a confidence into the players that they can win games, even when they go behind or go a man down. With this game coming between two Champions League games for Barca, there is hope in the Real camp that the Barca players will be tired and not play at their peak. Since Real Madrid players have only played one game a week since February, this could work to their advantage against Barcelona.

All in all, this is probably the final opportunity Real Madrid will have to catch up with the league leaders, and if they manage to win it could deal a psychological blow to Barcelona who will be looking over their shoulders for the remainder of the season, knowing one more defeat could cost them a league title. If Real win it will certainly make for a thrilling run-in for the league at any rate!