Barca vs Betis Preview

FC Barcelona would be hoping to carry on their last two good performance against Real betis also. After a shaky start Guardiola's boys looks like have put the train back on track. Henry who missed the 6-1 drubbing of Gijon will be back in place of Pedro. The squad announced by Guardiola for Betis encounter is Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Piqué, Márquez, Puyol, Xavi, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Eto'o, Abidal, Touré Yaya, Cáceres, Bojan, Keita, Messi, Henry and Sergio Busquets. Pedro should consider himself unlucky to miss out on the squad. There could be some changes especially considering the busy week. FC Barcelona will be playing Espanyol on saturday and would be heading for their Champions League encounter on Wednesday. How Guardiola is going to handle Messi would be the most interesteing part of this game. Another question everybody is asking is whether Busquests get another start?

FC Barcelona is expected to retain the squad which played against Gijon. Valdes is expected to be guarded with a four man defense consisting of Puyol, Marquez, Abidal and Alves. Midfield would be made up of Keita, Busquests and Xavi. Up front Iniesta will join Eto and Messi like last match. It is difficult to expect Henry to walk into the side for this match. If that happens then Busquests can be expected to start from substitute bench. Guardiola rightly was in a cautious mood during the pre-match press conference. He warned his players and fans not to expect a repeat of Gijon performance. He has singled out Iniesta for praise during the press conference. If Barca is going to have a good night, then it is mandatory that Iniesta has a good night. Betis will be more defensively organised and could be bit hard to crack. So this could be a test of how much Barca has recovered from their initial slump in form.

Andres Iniesta, The Silent Hero

FC Barcelona sadly has been always about the players like Ronaldinho, Messi, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Figo etc. Many a times we tend to overlook the contribution of many of our heroes. Andres Iniesta was in place to make that list of unsung heroes. This liliputian from Fuentealbilla has been Barcelona's best player of last season. He is inline to become the best player of this year also. But we will take his contribution for granted. As soon as Messi hits back his great stride we will forget this little man's contribution, surprisingly he will not complain about that. Usually there are two types of footballers - one with tremendous skills who tend to drift away now and then, and the other with moderate skills who tend to give their 100% percent everytime on the pitch. Iniesta belongs to the third group which does both to perfection.

Iniesta was off colour when FC Barcelona lost their seasons opener to Numancia; or may be we can say that Barca lost that match because their Mr.Reliable was having a bad day. Guardiola expressed his concerns over Iniesta's performance in that match and dropped him for the next match against Racing. But when he replaced Hleb in that match he showed what FC Barcelona was lacking till then. He undoubtedly has been the man of the match in FC Barcelona's last three matches. Even when the front trio has failed repeatedly it is Iniesta's partnership with Xavi which was pivotal in last two decent performnace by Barca.

Eventhough Louis Van Gaal was the one to handle Iniesta his debut; his success at the top level has to be accredited to the belief Rijkaard had in him. To an extent we can say that Iniesta was the most over abused player of the Rijkaard era. Rijkaard used him in all position - front left, front right, midfield, holding midfielder and even left back. His humility has earned him the title "El Anti-Galactico" by the Catalan press. Last match against Sporting Gijon is the prime example of the commitment he shows; he was slotted to play the attacking left front role but many a times we saw him track back and help Abidal in the defense. Because of this natureIniesta is simply the least substituted player in the Barcelona side.

Iniesta along with Xavi has become the core of Spain's National side. When he first made his debut there was reports suggesting that he is pretty unlucky to fight for a place in that already crowded midfield. Nobody gave him a chance of starting for Spain in the Euro. Such was his performance in the Euro qualifying matches that he pretty soon became the second most trusted midfielder for Luis Aragones; first being his campatriot Xavi Hernandez. He displaced Cesc Fabregas from the starting eleven. That didn't go that well with the English Press; there were suggestion put to change thes system so that the three Catalan midfielder can play together. He didn't start the Euro campaign that well; he was solid but wasn't magnificient. But with every match he improved and was at his best in the last three matches.

It's time the FC Barcelona fans stood up and appreciate this "Silent Hero". The more he plays the more he improves; two seasons before everyone complained about his ability to score goals. Now he is regularly getting into that scoresheet. His natural flair would be the driving force for FC Barcelona and Spain in the present and the future. With Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta Lujan forms the most dangerous partnership in today's midfield.

Barcelona Players Rating against Gijon

Valdes - 6.5 : The Goal Keeper had a pretty decent night. He cannot be blamed for the Barcelona Goal, but could have done better with his position. He also made a crucial intervention in the 62nd minute; getting himself injured during the process.

Alves - 6.5 : Looked more comfortable than in earlier matches. Looked very confident while going forward. was wayward with passing at times. But overall a decent job; and he is improving every match.

Puyol - 7 : Did his role to perfection as usual. Was solid when Gijon went full throttle after the break. Made sure that the defense didn't crack that often. Looked more convincing than Marquez dealing with aerial ball. Linked well in attack and saw Eto stealing a goal.

Abidal - 6 : Wasn't great, but did little mistake. Almost put his team in trouble in the 8th minute. But after that somehow managed his role. Many a times Iniesta track back to help him.

Xavi - 8.5 : Only word to describe him is Solid. Controlled the game in midfield. With Iniesta he is forming the most deadliest partnership of recent times. Scored one goal and created one for Messi when he should have gone at the goal by himself.

Keita - 7 : Had a quite night compared to last matches. But was solid, won many challenges and never hesitated to get into the box. May not have full settled with the one touch style of Xavi and Iniesta but assited them very well.

Busquests - 8 : Another surprising performance. He played the holding midfielder role to perfection. Showed a tendency to go down easily on challenges. Won most of the challenges. Linked well with Iniesta and Xavi. We could very soon find ourselves treated to a midfield trio of Iniest, Xavi and Busquests.

Messi - 6.5 : I know many of you may not agree with 6.5 rating. But I believe he deserves just that. Look disinterested in most of the game. Switched on in the last ten minutes like the Lisbon match. It's better to bring him as a substitute if he continues these kind of performance. Against Gijon his lack of interest may not have caused any trouble but against quality opposition he will be a trouble if he continues with this attictude. Alves tried to bring him into play many times but was not simply interested and was extremely selfish.

Eto - 6.5 : Didn't do anything special. But there was no lack of effort. Was kept quiet for most of time, but tracked back to hel defense.

Iniesta - 9 : Simply man of the match of last night. The team settled when Iniesta settled and that say it all. He tracked back to help Abidal many times. Created goal for Messi and Xavi. Scored a wonderful goal with a hell off a finish. I still cannot understand how he did that.He deserved to be in limelight after a series of good performance.

Bojan - 6.5 : The lack of playing time is clearly frustrating him. Went for goal whenever possible. Was involved in the last goal. He needs more playing time. Guardiola could try him left side up front.

Gudjonsen - 6 : Had very little time. Showed good concentration. But too little time.

Caceres - 6 : Same like eidur had little time.