FC Barcelona vs Numancia Preview

Usually a visit by a small club may not generate too much interest at Nou Camp. Then Numancia is no other minnow club; they are the only club to have beaten FC Barcelona this season in the league. FC Barcelona's defeat at Numancia might have been forgotten by the footballing fraternity but not by the fans. That 1-0 defeat shook us all but more importantly Guardiola; and he has been correcting that brilliantly all these times. Naturally there is cries from the fans to get the records straight but Guardiola true to his nature has under played all those silly cries. He has once again reminded everyone that Numancia would not be any push-over and he expects Barca to battle till the 90th minute to take the game. Numancia lies in the 17th position at present and that do worry me. Throughout this season we have struggled against sides which lies in the bottom of the table. Numancia's away form this season hasbeen horrifying; they have lost every game except the Espanyol visit. Numancia is expected to go with a defensive approach and would most probably feature a five man defense.

Guardiola has not yet announced the side. Valdes would return back to the goal. Marquez is injured hence Pique would partner Puyol in the centre of defense; Abidal and Alves is expected to retain their position of full backs. This could be the match where we would yet again get a glimpse of the tremendous midfield we have compared to all over Europe. I expect Iniesta and Xavi to partner Toure. Messi, Henry and Eto should form the front troika. Thsi one could be another tough match, but we can expect the team to be up for it. After a dissappointing showing in Espanyol, the team would be looking to set the records straight. I expect Fc Barcelona to win the game comfortably with a score line of 5-0.

A Boring Copa Del Rey Draw; Espanyol-0, Barca-0

Once again FC Barcelona struggled at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. FC Barcelona were held for a goal less draw by Espanyol in the first leg of Copa Del Rey Quarter Final. Guardiola earlier have suggested that he would field the best available side but he dissappointed so does the team. Guardiola brought in nine changes to the team which started last week against Deportivo. As expected Pinto took charge of the Goal. Puyol replaced Alves as right back, Caceres and Marquez held the cenral defense and Sylvinho replaced Abidal as Left Back. Guardiola opted for a defensive minded midfield with Gudjonsen, Keita and Busquets partnering in the middle. Hleb, Bojan and Iniesta formed the front trio. In my opinion Guardiola made the big mistake of not slotting Iniesta in the middle. With the absence of Xavi, placing Iniesta in the front effectively cut off any service from the middle to the front.

Espanyol inspired their new coach Mauricio Pochettino and the home fans did have the better of the first half. Actually FC Barcelona effectively had no attack against Espanyol in the first half. On the contrary Pinto was called in more than one occasion to avert the danger. Andres Iniesta was the only player who had a goal on target when he shot staright at Kameni. BUt the best chance of the first half fell to Luis Garcia but Pinto did get enough touch on the ball to take it wide off the goal. The second half also saw the game being played in the same tempo. FC Barcelona looked a bit more settled in defense and that resulted in Pinto not getting troubled much. The addition of Xavi and Messi towards the end also did nothing interms of the match. FC Barcelona was giving away possession too cheaply throughout the match.

A draw away from home is a good result. But now this result makes the return leg somewhat like a real knock-out match. Espanyol only needs a goal scoring draw to proceed to the next stage. Now Guardiola has to field his best side in the second leg. Bojan tried too hard to impress but was effectively shut down by the defense. Iniesta was not getting any service and should have switched his position with Gudjohnsen. Hleb was too wasteful and it is sad to see these guys not trying their best to compete for the position in starting eleven. Then it is difficult for the team to gel together when there are changes in whole position. That is the only reason why I feel Gudjohnsen and Hleb struggle when they are slotted in team like yesterdays' and seem to do well when slotten in the regular line-up.

Espanyol vs Barca, Copa Del Rey QF 1st Leg Preview

FC Barcelona would be hoping to produce another sensational performance against Espanyol tonight at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuic. FC Barcelona's last visit to Espanyol resulted in a very controversial win for Barca - A Messy Win. That was the night when the infamous Boix Nois once again came into the fore front. The group has yet again has announced that they will get into the stadium. Espanyol authorities need to take more tough measures to make sure that no unwanted incidents take place. Espanyol is in dire straits as far as league is considered. They have sacked their coach Mane after Sunday's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Malaga. Mauricio Pochettino has been named the new coach. That woories me, as always with the arrival of a new coach there will be new belief among the players and that could lead to an excellent display. BUt still it will be too much for Espanyol to overcome this rampant FC Barcelona side. Eventhough we struggled against Espanyol last time; this FC Barcelona side has improved in leaps and bounds after that visit. Raul Tamudo, a terror for Barca will not be available for Espanyol in tonight's match due to injury.

All is not supposed to be well at Barca. Eto and Guardiola reportedly had a verbal confrontation during training. MundoDeportivo reports that Guardiola was not too happy with Eto's efforts on the training ground and asked Eto to hit the showers early; Eto didn't take that lightly and entered into an argument with his boss. It is not clear whether the two has made up since, but one thing is clear that Guardiola would not allow any of his players to be complacent and that is so good. Guardiola has not yet announced his squad, but he has indicated that he would be unleashing a very strong side. Pinto would be at the Goal in place of Valdes. Sylvinho, Puyol, Marquez and Alves would be forming the defense. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets would be expected to form the midfield. But their may be a chance of Xavi being rested and then Keita would take his place. Hleb, Bojan and Messi is expected to form the front trio. There are reports suggesting that Pochettino would be using a 4-3-3 style, this could be dangerous for Espanyol as FC Barcelona players would have so much space to work with. I predict a Barca victory with a scoreline of 2-5.