Barcelona Must Avoid Clasico Hangover Without Iniesta

After Barcelona's workmanlike victory in the cauldron that is the Santiago Bernabeu, many pundits and fans were ready to crown Barcelona La Liga Champions for the second year running, but with seven matches still to play, the Catalans still have plenty of work to do.

As is the case during a World Cup year, there is a race against time to fit in all of the fixtures, and on Wednesday, Barcelona will be back in action against ninth-placed Deportivo La Caruna, before the Barcelona Derby against Espanyol this weekend. 

With such a quick turnaround in between matches, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and fullback Eric Abidal were both expected to be out, but a new loss could prove costly. 

Midfielder Andres Iniesta tore his right calf muscle on Tuesday and will be out for around a month, forcing him to miss not only the upcoming league games, but also the blockbuster Champions League encounter with Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

With a stable full of quality midfielders such as Sergio Busquets, Seydou Keita, and Yaya Toure, Iniesta is not likely to be missed against Deportivo La Caruna, a team Barcelona should have little trouble beating (with all due respect).

But against Mourinho's well organized Inter at the San Siro, there is the feeling that Barca will need the bit of added quality to break down the stern defense. 

Mourinho, who relies on one of Europe's best center back pairings in Walter Samuel and the imperious Lucio, has the luxury of a strong defensive midfield with captain Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. 

As tempting as it is to look forward a week, Barcelona must first take care of business againt Deportivo and Espanyol in order to ensure that the title remains at the Camp Nou. 

Earlier in the season, Barcelona topped Deportivo in the Riazor 3-1, thanks to a double from Messi.

The Espanyol match was a very tight encounter where Barca struggled without Messi, but were gifted a penalty when Xavi was adjudged to have been fouled in the area.

Ibrahimovic scored the spot kick for the game's only goal, but the performance was far from vintage Barca.

Barcelona's smaller team will always look to knock their more famous neighbors off their perch, and in front of their home fans the atmosphere is sure to be epic. 

The pressure will almost certainly be on Messi in both of these next two matches. He is the current leader for Spain's Golden Boot the Pichichi, the European Golden Boot, and the top scorer of the Champions League.

After playing as the main striker in Barcelona's victory in Madrid, Bojan is expected to return against Deportivo, pussing Messi into the classic number "10" position where he so excelled against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinal. 

Pep Guardiola is also expected to move Dani Alves back to his natural right back position after experimenting with the Brazilian as a right winger against Los Merengues. 

Gaby Milito, who limped off against Madrid, has been training as normal, and should be fit to play if called upon by his coach.