Everyone’s thoughts are fixed on the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend where Madrid will host their arch-rival Barcelona. Trailing 3 points to Real Madrid with one more game played, will Barcelona prove that they have the mettle to keep challenging ’til the end and keep Pep’s unbeaten record in the Bernabeu? Can Barcelona emerge from this game unscathed and still perform in Club World Cup and Copa del Rey?

Some people might have told you that when Real Madrid is trailing Barcelona, Real Madrid will never let go until the last matchday. Meanwhile, not the same thing could be said if the position is switched. Trailing by 3 points with one less game in hand after just losing to Getafe, now is the perfect time for Messi and the players to show the world (again) what this team is capable of.

Pep is an excellent motivator and cules have been largely aware of this, with the story of playing the team compilation of Gladiator movie before the 2009 final in Rome, “I want you to score with your heart” to Messi in Club World Cup, and endless inspiring quotes from the gaffer. However, before el Clasico, Pep pulled a masterstroke by letting the senior players watch the young ones play their heart out on Wednesday. By letting the seniors to sit it out and enjoy the show, Pep gave them rest and a reason to demonstrate the hunger just like the juniors. I can imagine Xavi, who will be having his 600th game for Barca, will play with a fire in his belly and so will the other players.

This surge of motivation is much needed to topple Madrid in their current beastly form. Being the only team in La Liga to have a 100% win record in all games played at home (and most probably in all European leagues), Real Madrid have scored 28 goals in six games this season and their playstyle has shifted considerably. Xabi Alonso masterminds a lot of chances, Di Maria is their top assist man, and both Benzema and Higuain have improved by leaps and bounds. Not to mention their almost blitz-like counter-attacking schemes that only take several seconds to go from from winning the ball to the opponent’s penalty box.

Barcelona, on the other hand, suffered from a flurry of muscular injuries, sluggish play away from home, and too many tactical and starting line-up experiments. Barcelona have dropped 11 points already, compared to 14 points in all of last season, scoring just 8 goals and conceding 7. So, just like Dani Alves said, Barcelona doesn’t have any more margins for error. The experiments themselves were much needed and there is always a sacrifice when a team wants to grow out of its shell. Barcelona must always add or change something to their ways of playing as they are always under the spotlight with every other manager trying their best to end Barcelona’s run of success.

With the junior side’s win against BATE this Wednesday and the big wins against Levante and Rayo, it seems slowly but surely the concerns are being put to rest. The players’ intensity are back to what they once used to, and everyone seems to be more aware of their role in the field. Barcelona keeping the width against teams who are content on sitting back very deep have proved to be the solution for a lot of games, accurate crosses have also given Barcelona a goal or two. The remaining problem, lack of height and power in set piece situations, seems to be here to stay. The solution for that is intertwined with maintaining ball possession and making sure to not concede set-pieces in dangerous places.

Team News

FC Barcelona

Barcelona is currently only missing Afellay to injuries as Adriano is back to training and Pedro made his return on Wednesday. Messi is given a full week rest and it will prove to be beneficial for Barcelona, as he’ll be looking to improve his record of scoring seven goals at the Bernabeu already and putting 13 goals past Casillas in 15 games. But how will Pep approach this game? How can Pep react to what Madrid have achieved and still play their own game?

After Karanka confirmed on Friday that Mou will field a 4-3-3 formation tomorrow, a couple of points come into focus. With Mou already realizing that he won’t match Barca in possession, why has he opted for a 4-3-3 formation? How is it better than his usual 4-2-3-1 with Pepe at CDM? It’s very possible that Mou is feeling very confident at this moment. They will play their own direct game and there is a certain predictability that comes with it. Xabi Alonso will be the brain of Real’s attacks, and it will be advisable for Barca to try to stifle it. But with Xabi playing very deep, then how can Barca achieve it with minimal sacrifice to Barca’s own style?

The answer lies with our golden boy who just arrived this season. Cesc Fabregas will have a very important debut tomorrow, as he’ll experience first hand playing el Clasico as a senior team member. The link-up play between Fabregas and Messi plays a very important part in how tomorrow’s clasico game will play out differently than last season. With this said, I still think that Pep will play a four-man defense. So, the little surprise might be the front three. I suspect that Messi-Fabregas-Alexis will play up front. Messi and Fabregas will largely stay in the middle area as Madrid will play a three-man midfield and they have no superiority in the central midfield. Alexis will occupy the right flank with Dani Alves and will sometime switch flanks. It will be an asymmetric formation that sacrifices width on both flanks to achieve a tactical goal. David Villa, Pedro, or Cuenca still have a very important roles as impact subs as there will be more than one phase in the match, and good substitution is key for Guardiola.

As one of the forwards, Fabregas will have one main role when defending, to pressure Xabi Alonso and prevent him from having enough time to think and distribute the ball. Because Madrid will expect to play direct, their other two midfielders will be Khedira and Lass/Coentrao. These other midfielders are nowhere as good in playmaking as Xabi and nullifying him will make sure Barcelona gain some momentum in the midfield battle. Achieving this and Messi-Fabregas partnership in one stroke is not an opportunity to be overlooked easily.

Our three midfielders would be Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta. Busquets will ensure good ball distribution when Xavi is marked closely, and Iniesta will look for openings from the flank or the center. Xavi will control the tempo and will sometimes burst forward or shoot from distance to assure unpredictability.

The four man defense will consist of Puyol-Pique partnership, Dani Alves, and Abidal. Pep has been reserving Pique and Puyol to be fully fit for this match. Dani Alves will partner Alexis Sanchez to provide a deadly link of defense and attack which will pin down Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo. Marcelo has been essential to Real Madrid’s attack for the past seasons, although he is still questionable defensively. By pinning Marcelo down, Guardiola will ensure that these weaknesses are magnified.

Predicted Starting XI: Valdes – Puyol, Pique, Dani Alves, Abidal – Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – Messi, Fabregas, Sanchez

Real Madrid CF

Playing direct in a 4-3-3 formation, Mou has been very confident with the strengths of his squad. They are very versatile, capable of winning by well-thought moves and set pieces or by counter-attacking against sides that are comfortable with ball possession. I believe this can also be their undoing, as it’s possible that tomorrow they’ll try to play open and attacking football as they are playing at home, rather than a slow tempo match with a lot of stoppage from fouls.

Kaka and Ozil haven’t played too many full matches so far this season due to Madrid’s attacking speed that takes a lot of stamina from the players. Usually their forwards will move very quickly and if this happens it’s very hard to mark the players. That’s why Barcelona tomorrow have to keep an eye on Xabi Alonso, and Fabregas will do a great job acting as the first screen for Barcelona. Abidal will keep Di Maria in his pockets. Too bad Madrid will still be very dangerous in set pieces and there’s no denying that.

Predicted Starting XI: Casillas – Pepe, Ramos, Arbeloa, Marcelo – X. Alonso, Khedira, Coentrao – Ronaldo, Benzema, Di Maria

Match Prediction

Most likely, the match will end up a draw which won’t do Barcelona any favors. Although Messi can be the difference once again here and give the cules something to cheer for and snatch the winner for Barcelona just before the final whistle. Regardless of what will happen tomorrow, seeing the young guns perform so well against BATE and seeing Guardiola take great pride in running this team has given me enough reasons to keep supporting the team ’til the end. Visca Barca.

Real Madrid CF 2 – 3 FC Barcelona