Barcelona-Real Madrid: La Liga Preview

Real Madrid

Previous Results:

Real Madrid vs. Sevilla: 3-4

Real Madrid vs. Zenit St Petersburg: 3-0

Bernd Schuster’s reign comes to an end

The German can only blame himself for losing his job. Ramon Calderon might have kept Schuster till the end of the season, as they didn’t have a replacement.

Schuster then decided to say that Real would never be victorious against red-hot Barca at the Nou Camp. This was a direct insult to not only the whole team, but also Ramon Calderon. Schuster was out of the club within a few hours.

Juande Ramos begins with a bang

Ramos might have been sacked as Tottenham manager. Nobody can however forget his contributions to Sevilla.

His first victory came against UEFA Cup Winners Zenit. Dudek started between the posts this time. Otherwise there were no changes to the Real side which lost to Sevilla. A Robben goal between two Raul goals saw Real run out as 3-0 winners.

Barcelona:

Previous results:

Valencia vs. Barcelona: 1-5

Barcelona vs. Shaktar Donetsk: 2-3

Barcelona’s amazing run at the Nou Camp comes to an end

Pep Guardiola sent out an amateur squad against Shaktar. He might have had the game against Real at the back of his mind. The Barca youth team, however, lost to a clinical Shaktar side. Yet there was nothing to worry about, as Barca had already topped their group.

Current Situation

Juande Ramos has a lot to prove to the world. He was disgraced at Tottenham and he will definitely want to get some of his respect back.

Real have an excellent squad. New signing Klass Jan Huntelaar has added extra depth. Gonzalo Higuain can always be counted upon to drive the team on.

Raul, the captain has proved time and time again that his best days are not behind him. Real might not be able to win the title this season, but they can at least come second.

Then comes the prospect of Champions League. Real hasn’t won the competition since the 2001-02 season.

As far as Barcelona is concerned, they have won the title in 2006 and are looking like contenders for this one. They have been outstanding. Their win against Valencia was followed by a disappointing loss against Shaktar, but that team was made of the youngsters.

The Arsenal youth team failed to give Porto a game, but the Barca youngsters, despite the loss, took the game to Shaktar.

Probable line-ups

Real: Jerzy Dudek, Michel Salgado- Sergio Ramos- Fabio Cannavaro- Christoph Metzelder, Fernando Gago- Guti - Rafael VDV- Ruben de la Red, Raul- Gonzalo Higuain.

Barcelona: Victor Valdez, Martin Caceres- Gerard Pique-Rafael Marquez- Daniel Alves, Sergio Busquets - Xavi Hernandez- Aleksandr Hleb- Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi- Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Prediction

Juande Ramos has started positively and the win has also given confidence to the Madrid squad. I do not believe that Real will win, yet there are chances of a high-scoring draw.

Final Score: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid