Real Madrid - FC Barcelona | La Liga Matchday 29 | Mar 23, 2013

Time: 16:00 EST 20:00 GMT 21:00 CET

Team I'm expecting:


Team I would play


Result I'm expecting: 2-2

Expecting the same team as you..

but if it were up to me, I would rather play Sanchez over Pedro.

we need more unpredictability in our forwards and i think that is why Neymar - Messi - Iniesta despite 2/3 of those players being played wrongly still succeed.

Pedro is easy to read, more reliable sure but I don't see him doing the random things like Sanchez does.. scoring with his back or chipping Lopez from outside the box, the small things that matter.

We're going to kill them.

I fully expect the City/Madrid line up, it seems to be the big game line up.

I dont like it, but I wont complain about its short-comings...beating a dead horse on that one.

In theory we should smash them.

They play possession football and don't squeeze the lines and don't play pure counterattack as they did under Mourinho which should give Barca lots of space. They also seem to believe their own hype right now because they have consistently beaten scrubs so far, even if unconvincingly many times.

Di Maria in midfield is a liability waiting to happen in big games. Don't see him being able to connect midfield and attack like a proper #10 would. Maybe against scrubs, not at this level.

Pepe always produces some blunder in high profile games.

Marcelo can't defend to save his life and is a liability in these fixtures every single time.

Bale's statistics exceed his actual performances by far. Most of his assists aren't even proper assists. He just tends to touch the ball as the last man high up the pitch.

Modric is overrated and gets dominated against any half decent midfield.

Messi and Iniesta are in top form right now. The team has a point to prove.

Turtle-onso trying to stop in-form Messi and Iniesta between the lines. lulz Will probably get sent off after about 30 minutes.

Neymar playing RW in our "big game formation" should be interesting. Ronaldo doesn't track back and Marcelo, as I said, is a liability. Messi and Neymar overloading that side could be glorious.

Real Madrid 0 - Barca 3

This has a lot of 09/10 where Madrid were unbeaten in La Liga all season until we came and shat on them as usual.

Visca Barca.

I was with you untill you said Alonso getting sent off

I got more chance of getting a red than him.

I wonder what kind of team Madrid will play against Schalke Castilla?

But seriously, that's one way to look at it which I agree with..

But another might be;

We will play with no real width, allowing their fullbacks to stick tight to the CB's and clogging up the space for the quick 1-2s.

Every CB they have is very comfortable following Messi high up the pitch, and if he goes too deep (he will) they (Madrid) have finally learnt to let him go there and play in front of the midfield, rather than the old method of allowing him to get in between the lines alone.

Every time we play them, we get in behind one of their dunderhead defenders. Our current 11 has no players that run in behind, with the possible exception of Alba or Messi. But Messi is the one that draws the attention which allows someone else behind.

Bale is fit this time and up against defenceless Alba.

Di Maria in midfield with Modric gives them more mobilty than ever defensively and offensively. Sure Alonso is slow, Busquets equally so...but you had to give these two the nod in transition abilty vs Xavi and Cesc.

No Khedira or Ozil, no slow footed or one lunged players trying to pressure and counter.

Neymar can pressure, but struggles getting back...Dani Alves getting zero help from a Pedro/Alexis for at the very least 60 minutes.

Iker for like a decade has crumbled to the will of Messi, on the bench again. Messi's confidence against this guy is sky high.

There's more chance of me shitting out gold than Alonso getting a red.

That could also happen of course. But, in my humblest of opinions:

Meh. Ancelotti won't set up Carvajal and Marcelo to stick tight to the centerbacks and clogg the middle and even if he does, bypassing those 2 shouldn't be a big hurdle. Both helpless defensively.

I think width is overrated in these kind of games for us. Even when we play with Pedro and Alexis in big games, they never take the ball and drive it into the box individually like for example Ribery or Robben to unsettle the opponent's defensive shape. So the fullbacks are more alert to the center regardless as Messi >>>>>>> Pedro or Alexis. Those Villa-Pedro runs inbetween fullback and centerback are dead since 2010, teams have adapted. What happens is Pedro or Alexis take the ball, make a few steps forward, stop, turn, play it back to the middle and wait for Messi to pull something off. At least in big games that's what always happens because they can't dribble past defenders. Most of the time they are just staying wide and are quite uninvolved in the game. Neymar is our only winger who has the skills to get past defenders and drive into the box. So I understand that Tata goes for the "throw in all the best individuals" lineup in these games.

When Iniesta drifts wide left and Neymar is on the right with Messi drifting right as well, defenses respect that a lot more than Pedro and Alexis "providing width" and waiting for the ball. For example look at Messi's goal post chance against City. Neymar won the ball back high up the pitch on the wing and played it to Messi who was also on the right. Messi attacked from the wing and then cut inside and almost scored. It's about playing and moving intelligently, not which names are out on the pitch. We can still have width with that formation if the players don't just stand around in the middle and wait for ball to feet.

I'm not sure Di Maria and Modric add more than Khedira and Özil did. What Di Maria brings in additional mobility and energy they've already lost with Khedira. Who on top of that also brought tactical discipline and physicality, hacking Iniesta down most of the time without getting carded. Even if he was shit on the ball. I'd also value Özil's vision and throughballs on the break and set piece ability higher than whatever Modric does on a football pitch, making useless, eye-pleasing, "agile" pirouettes and running around like a headless chicken.

Madrid's midfield gets dominated quite easily, especially under pressure, as we've seen against Atletico and Athletic Bilbao. Which comes as no surprise as Di Maria has the footballing IQ of a sea cucumber and Alonso has the mobility of a Boeing 747 trying to make a U turn on the highway.

We need to pay attention and not allow Ronaldo and Bale to run into space. That's their only weapon.

I also believe our first approach this season with Messi on the wing screwed them psychologically for this game. Now they will try to not make the same mistake to only concentrate on Messi which in return will give him a bit too much freedom. And Messi is in some hot form. Fully expect a Messi hattrick in this.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:There's more chance of me shitting out gold than Alonso getting a red.

I wish I knew what I was thinking when I wrote that.

This match is huge for both teams.

We beat them; and the league is within our grasps again.

We lose to them; and then Atletico become the last real threat to Real Madrid getting the league. Which knowing them it will be hard for them to juggle both league and UCL going forward.

So lets do this shit.

We will win but they will still win the league. Only 9 games left after that. 5 of them at home for them. Very unlikely they'll drop points.

I can live with a Cup double and beating Mehdrid twice in La Liga though. Prefer a CL final Clasico as well. No one will care about the league then.  

You guys are very confident, especially the kneejerk king.
Anything can happen to be honest. I don't see anything that warrants a victory for us. If we win, I'm sure Madrid will drop points. It's crucial that we win so Atletico can become top of the league at least.

free_cat wrote:You guys are very confident, especially the kneejerk king.
Anything can happen to be honest. I don't see anything that warrants a victory for us. If we win, I'm sure Madrid will drop points. It's crucial that we win so Atletico can become top of the league at least.

thats the first thing comes to my mind too.....  

When I said lack width, I certainty did not simply mean Alexis and Pedro powering past fullbacks with dribbles. Of course not.

However, Neymar on the left is explosive and can rip people in the 1 v 1 coming inside or going down the line. Iniesta cannot do that.

On the right, Neymar cant really rip people either way. We dont have anyone for that really on that side. Plus its Marcelo, and as bad a defender as he is, he is pretty strong bodied and have defended Neymar more than a few times before.

Obviously, teams will always be more fearful of Messi in the middle than any player out wide. However, when we have them defending narrow (dont know if they will, but it makes completely sense to do so) and we play into that narrowness by playing the game within the width of the penalty box. That decreases the amount of space between each defender they have and makes getting through the middle harder. The occasion quick rip to the byline causes the fullback to move, do that consistently enough and it fatigues them (physically and mentally) and that leads to errors they otherwise wouldn't commit. If they defend within the width of the box the whole game, less space to cover, easier for them.

Really regardless of where goals have come from or what strengths we ultimately will lean on, playing with width is importantl

A madridista here.
There is a lot of optimism in both camps but I can see that you guys have been really energized by the 7-0 victory against Osasuna.
Regardless of our prior victories, I stil respect barcelona and form doesn't always matter in el clasicos.
You talk about the weakness of real madrid and failed to recognize yours.
Madrid's midfield suffers like hell under pressure. Very true!
But since Guardiola left, better put, since Martino became the coach, Barcelona as a team suffers so much under pressure.
All the teams that beat barca dis season put them under pressure
Even some teams like Sevilla and others who missed their early opportunities used the same tactics but were unlucky with their chances. The only problem is that if after 20mins to 30mins, the other team does not make use of the opportunity, they suffer.
A lot of the matches barca won this season was not because they shut out the opponent, but because the opponents missed their chanceS(note the 'S' plural of chance) and an unbias barca fan would admit that.
People talk about barca in crises despite the fact that they are in the copa final, CL quarter final and just 4points off the pace in La liga even after losing their best player to injury for months.
You need to understand that its not the actual perfomance that is being used as a yardstick for measuring barca's position, rather, the unreal Guardiola era.
Even in this so-called crisis state, barca would stil beat any top team on their day but the problem is that this barca was built to either completely dominate or not..They were raised with an All-or-nothing mentality.
Attack-or-Die mentality.
Despite the fact that there is a slight shift in the on-field philosophy, it is stil apparent that those players held on to that maxim and anytime they are not completelyt dominant, they lose motivation not quality.
It makes them feel human, which they were not under Guardiola, and that sense of mortality weakens their ego.
Pressure instead of respect weakens their ego

For those observant barca fans, you know that barca is a different team this season. They can pass the ball around forever, but that is only when the other team sits back like the man city did in the first leg.
We both know that when teams put pressure on barca, they can't string passes together.
Those were only in the days of the immortal, surreal, god-like Guardiola - best coach ever!

As for madrid, I am not swayed by our 30 games unbeaten, all we do is pass the ball from left to right and then get it to ronaldo or Bale. Very predictable but amidst the predictability, we still have Bale and Ronaldo who need no introduction.

My predictions are
If madrid sits back as a result of the fear and respect for Barca's reputation (Guardiola's barca) which most teams do, madrid will lose or draw the game. A loss is more feasible

But if madrid, just like the few smart teams, understands that barca is a different team now that shouldn't be feared, and crumbles under pressure, I see a madrid win.

Regardless of the outcome, Iniesta, messi and pedro would have a good game, most especially, Iniesta.

I think you haven't watched us match Shadexticos. This team, unlike Guardiola's or Tito's, enjoys being dominated much more than before. We score mostly in the counter and we struggle a lot creating chances in static play, so we need the opposition to press and attack. It's true also that we struggle to build up from deep under pressure, but also true that if the opposition attacks and presses, we have a bigger chance of creating chances than if they seet deep and we don't know what to do then.

How is it news that barca lose when pressed? It's been a long time since teams figured that out, we'll into to the pep era.

Welcome shadexticos, wouldnt mind a good natured Real fan here

Lots of discussions and predictions already. When is the game? Sat? or Sun.? Ohhh the build up is always huge for El Classicos! We've had so much in the past few seasons though.... this time it feels a lot is different though, no Mou factor, could mean there is less ugly stuff and no red card to them anymore

I am well aware of barca hitting people on the counter. Alexis sanchez's goal against madrid at the camp nou was on the counter. I have watched barca a lot this season.

@Barriletecosmico
Its news that barca loses when pressed cos during the pep era, you had to have a strategy for pressing and then have all 11 players running at you with a vidal or di maria energy.
But now, just common non-strategic pressing would do.

@Barcalearning
Thank you

Welcome Shadexticos. Nice to have some Madridistas come in here who don't sound incredible bias towards there cause and can share a good view.

My 2 cents. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if it went the exact same way the first game between us went. Honestly both teams could of scored allot more that game and right now Madrid is playing with allot of confidence and are in better for than us. That said; I like to think our players are big game proven (our trophy cabinet attests to this) and since Tata has arrived we have yet to lose a big game. He gets us in a good place to win plus the players also step up the A game. I'd also like to think Messi wants to prove who the real best player of the world is and this is the perfect setting for him to start reminding people of how lethal he was pre-injury. Our midfield is still stronger, and a big game from Xaviesta should help us claw our way back into the title picture.

I don't know why people keep saying the league is over. We win and we are only 1 point behind them. We also have a bigger GD than them, so if they draw any games after that then we automatically go ahead of them if we continue to win as well. Even a draw won't give them the league imo; only a win from them this weekend will realistically end us. 7 points would just be too much to think they can drop from here until the end of the season.

Also worth noting; Jese who is as legit as they come, is injured and is out for some time so he won't be available this weekend. We are at full strength for the first time in forever.

Please, PLEASE win and bring some life back into the League. Three of the leagues are practically over and it's two months still remaining.

Practically over? I know we are doomsayers here, but the gap between Madrid and Atletico is the same as the potential gap between City and Chelsea.

It isn't really because City has 3 games in hand lol...

Anyway the 3 leagues he's talking about is Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A i think IMO.

Don't think anyone thinks La Liga is over yet