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Mar 22, 2014

Barca will play the second Clasico of the season tomorrow at the Santiago Bernebeu, knowing clearly that a loss there would put them out of the title race. Barca currently lies seven points behind the league leaders, Real Madrid. A lose will take that to seven points, something which could be impossible to compensate in a three horse race. A draw will not harm Barca much but then leave a lot to chances. In that scenario, anything other than a victory at the Bernebeu will be non-ideal for FC Barcelona. The strange thing is that even if we win, we could see ourselves still remaining in third depending on what happens in the Atletico vs Real Betis match. FC Barcelona could not have asked for a much better preparation going into the game. After the inconsistent start to 2014, Barca looks to have turned their form for the good with brilliant performance against Manchester City and Osasuna at home. Even though these two performances came at home, there is a belief that the team has regained his form and that the results should start showing away from home now. And that belief stems from the excellent form shown by Lionel Messi in the last couple of matches.

Santiago Bernebeu has been more or less an impenetrable fortress for Real Madrid. Their last defeat came against Atletico Madrid but that was a long time ago. One of the plus points Barca has got when playing this Real Madrid side will be their formation. Real Madrid this season has lined up in the usual 4-3-3 fashion. It's not the formation which excites me, it's the composition of that midfield. They usually have a defensive midfielder, one deep lying playmaker and one attacking midfielder in the lineup. If Ancelotti sticks to that we will have an advantage. Real Madrid is expected to line-up with Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe and Carvajal in defense. Alonso, Modric and di Maria is expected to be in midfield. Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo should make up the attacking line-up.

Barca coach Martino has his onw head-ache in selecting the first eleven. The defense more or less selects itself. Mascherano, Pique and Alves definitely is going to start. The choice of left back could be tricky; Alba's recent form has been good but I have a feeling Martino will go with Adriano on the left. He looks more composed in defense that Alba and has that wicked long range shot. The composure of midfield would be decided on how the front three line-up. As of now only Lionel Messi is a sure starter in the front three. If Martino is looking to start Cesc then Iniesta will occupy the left flank and Neymar most probably the right flank like we lined up against Manchester City. For me we shouldn't line-up like that. In order to overcome the Madrid midfield we need the presence of Iniesta in the middle. That will give more control in the midifeld. In that case we should have Pedro and Neymar in front three. So my choice of the midfield will be Iniesta, Busquetsa and Xavi. The front three should have Messi in false-9 role, Neymar on the right and Pedro on the left. Having Neymar on right should pin Marcelo back and prevent him from linking with Ronaldo.

This match is going to be more or like a "Do or Die Match" for us. If Martino get his formation right, we would be able to triumph at the Santiago Bernebeu. With Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta both playing well, we could definetely hope to breach Real Madrid's fortress. But for that we need to keep the formation as compact as it can and press heavily upfront.

All About FC Barcelona


AllAboutFCBarcelona.com is a Blog dedicated to the Most prestigous Club in the world, FC Barcelona by an ardent fan. Here I discuss about the Latest happening surrounding our Club and present my Views about the same.

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