Gearing Up for The Theatre of Dreams

Barcelona may repeat the same side which faced Manchester United at Camp Nou for the second leg tie at “The Theatre of Dreams". For once I expected the players who were not involved in the first leg, to push seriously for their inclusion in the match against Deportivo. Nothing of that sort has happened and Rijkaard in all probability start Bojan, Henry and Gudjonsen on the bench. The only change to the side will be Puyol coming back to strengthen the back four instead of Marquez who is suspended. The other players to miss out were Giovanni who is replaced by Edmilson, Ezquerra and Oleguer. Ronaldinho from club's explanation is injured and is automatically not selected. So the final squad list is Valdes, Pinto, Zambrotta, Thuram, Puyol, Milito, Abidal, Sylvinho, Edmilson, Toure Yaya, Deco, Iniesta, Xavi, Gudjohnsen, Bojan, Eto’o, Henry and Messi. Toure missed Sunday’s training session with a heavy bruise to his right ankle, but he is expected to make the line up for Tuesday.

Manchester United also have some injury concerns with Rooney and Vidic, both the players have to be substituted in the match against Chelsea. But both are expected to be fit for Barcelona match. After the first leg tie, everybody will be hoping that the second leg lives up to its expectation. Old Trafford is one of the toughest places to visit and when you consider Manchester United's form this season and Barcelona's this season, this could indeed turn up as a disaster for Barcelona. Amongst all these negatives Barcelona's performance in the first leg gives ample hope. Barcelona might find enough space to exploit at Old Trafford. But Barcelona's weakness in front of the goal could very well turn up to be a decisive factor. Another decisive factor is the lack of pace this season and it will become essential as we may not be that effective at counters. But again this could be the night of Messi, who along with Iniesta could conjure up a very memorable night.

No Messi to Deportivo

Rijkaard has announced a squad without Messi, Xavi and Eto for the trip to Deportivo La Coruna. Add to this list the already suspended Milito and Iniesta, the entire team looks completely different from the one which did well against Manchester United. Rijkaard might have rested so many regulars with an eye on the second leg Champions League encounter against Manchester United. But Messi did look like a bit short on match practice and could have used to get into full swing in this game. Deco is expected to start in order to get more match practice, but mark my word Toure is expected to start on the bench along with Zambrotta.

In the absence of so many regulars, we can expect Bojan and Giovanni to start along with Henry upfront. Deco, Gudjonsen and Ezquerra might form the midfield. Deportivo is never an easy place to travel, especially taking into the fact that they managed to secure 22 points from their last nine matches. This could be weekend where Real Madrid officially wins the crown. For Barcelona getting a draw out of this match should be a great result. But they should be vary of the second place Villareal, and keep with them in the points tally for the automatic qualification spot.

Did Ferguson give too much respect to Barcelona?

After all the disappointment from a match which was billed as the final before the final, the soccer world has slowly started accepting the tactics used by Manchester United. Many sections of English press came up with praise to Ferguson's master tactic at Nou Camp; many sections are still openly criticizing him for a chance let gone. Barcelona's attack line up is being constantly ridiculed by the English press citing the fact that they could not conjure up a goal, even though they had more than 65% of possession. From a European Championship's perspective, Ferguson might have pulled out a master stroke. His entire pre match talks of how important the away goal was; served as a camouflage in itself. For Barcelona also the fact that they have not scored in the last two matches is a worrying factor.

But was Ferguson tactic right? It all depends on which ship you are in. But I have to agree with one fact - Ferguson might have let gone the best chance to destroy Barcelona. If you have watched the earlier exchange in the game, Barcelona team looked a bit nervy, shaky. That nervousness resulted in the free kick which ultimately earned the penalty kick. But Ferguson with his tactics allowed Barcelona time to settle down. Especially when you consider the Barcelona players - Deco never played for ages, Messi not fully match fit, Abidal was discarded for earlier matches; he should have been a little more adventurous. I thought the weak link in Barcelona defense, Marquez was never put under enough pressure by the Manchester side. If he has taken the risk to attack a bit more, they might have scored an away goal which would have made the second leg pretty easy.

Don't get me wrong here, ManU still start as absolute favourite in the second leg. But the problem for ManU will be that they need to win this, whereas Barcelona can go through with goal scoring draw. Ferguson has already vowed to attack Barca at Old Trafford. But whether he will surely do it is yet to be seen; especially considering the fact that a Barcelona goal could be disastrous. If Manchester United is going to play their natural game then Barcelona will definitely find spaces to exploit. How intimidating will be Old Trafford atmosphere, will be another factor which will decide the match. The last time Manchester United came up with a Goal less draw against Real Madrid, the return leg they lose 3-0.