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Spain La Liga Matchday 26, 29.02-01.03
- Thread starter spkutano
- Start date
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Real Madrid:
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde; Isco, Benzema, Bale
Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Firpo; Arthur, Busquets, De Jong; Vidal, Messi, Griezmann
Real Madrid host Barcelona in El Clasico as they look to return to the first place on the table. Few words about the rivalry. Madrid and Barcelona are Spain's largest cities and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions. Real Madrid are viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan nationalism. The two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the World; in 2014 Forbes ranked them the World's two most valuable sports teams. Both clubs have a global fan base; they are the two most followed sports teams on social media.
As early as the 1930s, Barcelona "had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid". In 1936, when general Franco started the war against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops.
Barcelona was on top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National faction, just after communists and anarchists. During the Franco dictatorship, most citizens of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like regime. Phil Ball, the author of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football, says about the match; "They hate each other with an intensity that can truly shock the outsider".
Now about the match. Real are in bad form at the moment. They suffered a painful defeat to Levante in the last league match. The loss ended Real Madrid's 14-game unbeaten run in La Liga. Real controlled 63% of the possession, fashioned 19 shots, with seven of those on target compared to the two by their opponents, but failed to score. To be worse, Eden Hazard suffered an ankle fracture and will miss the rest of the season. Just four days later Zidane's men suffered another defeat, this time in the Champions League. Los Blancos lost 2:1 to Manchester City at Bernabeu. The second consecutive defeat disappointed the fans as their expectations were connected with another European trophy. Of course, Real still have a chance, but it won't be easy to obtain a two-goal win at the Etihad. Zidane must find a way to rebuild the players confidence. Aside of Hazard, he will miss Rodrygo due to a suspension. Interesting, the Brazilian was sent off playing for Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda B Division last weekend.
Barcelona had much better week compared to Real. First they beat Eibar with 5:0 and took the first place on the table. Lionel Messi ended his mini-scoring drought as he netted four goals. The Argentine had last scored against Granada on January 19 in Quique Setien's first game in charge. New signing Martin Braithwaite, who came from Leganes, should also be mentioned as he set up the last two goals. Coach Setien admitted he was surprised by the impact made by his new player. Barca then faced Napoli in the Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. The Catalans were one goal down after the first half, but Antoine Griezmann's equalizer gave them a slender away-goal-based advantage. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is positive following the last results. Nevertheless, Setien has five injury worries ahead of this match. Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez and Sergi Roberto are sidelined through injuries, while two more players are rated as doubtful. Jordi Alba has returned to training this week, but this match comes too soon for him. Gerard Pique picked up a foot injury against Napoli, but should start in the derby.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction:
This match may decide lot about the title. Both teams will go for the victory, so I expect an efficient derby at Santiago Bernabeu. Real are hosts and they must attack. That will leave space for Messi and Griezmann, both in good form. At the same time, Barcelona have kept just three clean sheets in 10 matches since Setien's appointment. At least three goals should be scored.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.73 with 1xBet
Possible starting lineups:
Real Madrid:
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde; Isco, Benzema, Bale
Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Firpo; Arthur, Busquets, De Jong; Vidal, Messi, Griezmann
Real Madrid host Barcelona in El Clasico as they look to return to the first place on the table. Few words about the rivalry. Madrid and Barcelona are Spain's largest cities and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions. Real Madrid are viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan nationalism. The two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the World; in 2014 Forbes ranked them the World's two most valuable sports teams. Both clubs have a global fan base; they are the two most followed sports teams on social media.
As early as the 1930s, Barcelona "had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid". In 1936, when general Franco started the war against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops.
Barcelona was on top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National faction, just after communists and anarchists. During the Franco dictatorship, most citizens of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like regime. Phil Ball, the author of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football, says about the match; "They hate each other with an intensity that can truly shock the outsider".
Now about the match. Real are in bad form at the moment. They suffered a painful defeat to Levante in the last league match. The loss ended Real Madrid's 14-game unbeaten run in La Liga. Real controlled 63% of the possession, fashioned 19 shots, with seven of those on target compared to the two by their opponents, but failed to score. To be worse, Eden Hazard suffered an ankle fracture and will miss the rest of the season. Just four days later Zidane's men suffered another defeat, this time in the Champions League. Los Blancos lost 2:1 to Manchester City at Bernabeu. The second consecutive defeat disappointed the fans as their expectations were connected with another European trophy. Of course, Real still have a chance, but it won't be easy to obtain a two-goal win at the Etihad. Zidane must find a way to rebuild the players confidence. Aside of Hazard, he will miss Rodrygo due to a suspension. Interesting, the Brazilian was sent off playing for Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda B Division last weekend.
Barcelona had much better week compared to Real. First they beat Eibar with 5:0 and took the first place on the table. Lionel Messi ended his mini-scoring drought as he netted four goals. The Argentine had last scored against Granada on January 19 in Quique Setien's first game in charge. New signing Martin Braithwaite, who came from Leganes, should also be mentioned as he set up the last two goals. Coach Setien admitted he was surprised by the impact made by his new player. Barca then faced Napoli in the Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. The Catalans were one goal down after the first half, but Antoine Griezmann's equalizer gave them a slender away-goal-based advantage. I believe the atmosphere in the squad is positive following the last results. Nevertheless, Setien has five injury worries ahead of this match. Ousmane Dembele, Luis Suarez and Sergi Roberto are sidelined through injuries, while two more players are rated as doubtful. Jordi Alba has returned to training this week, but this match comes too soon for him. Gerard Pique picked up a foot injury against Napoli, but should start in the derby.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction:
This match may decide lot about the title. Both teams will go for the victory, so I expect an efficient derby at Santiago Bernabeu. Real are hosts and they must attack. That will leave space for Messi and Griezmann, both in good form. At the same time, Barcelona have kept just three clean sheets in 10 matches since Setien's appointment. At least three goals should be scored.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.73 with 1xBet