El Classico- Barcelona Vs Real Madrid

[Pay Per Ghost]

Now with Real Madrid vs Barcelona almost upon us, I wanna hear some prediction from the footie fans out there.

Barcelona, whoever this silky smooth bulldozer of a team are finally showing that they have some cracks and vulnerabilities. Their 3 man defence has failed to perform consistently and Pep has acknowledged that.

On the other hand, Madrid are hitting all kinda strides and are expected to stay with their current attacking mentality with the Catalan Club.

So predictions and star man?

3-2, I see goals I really do. But I think the one man who will decide this will be, you guessed it, Cristiano Ronaldo. He has become the assist king these days and his free scoring form hasn't taken a hit cozza that.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Yeh I see Madrid edging this to be honest. They are in a richer vein of form at the moment and have consistency on their side. I'd like to see Barca win but with Ronaldo in great form, not to mention Benzema and Higuain also getting among the goals, it's hard to see Madrid not scoring. Is this one at the Nou Camp or Bernabeu?

 

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

It's at the Bernabeu which is why i expect Madrid to win this one. They have been on a roll lately and a draw is enough for them to stay top while the pressure is on Barca to win to stay in the title race. Higuain Ronaldo and Di maria will cause the much scrutenised Barcelona defence all sorts of problems.

Expect to see the usual drama from Mourinio also. In the last el classico he poked one of Barcelona's coaches in the eye so there's bound to be tension on the sidelines.

Im going for a 2-1 win here for madrid. Barca will hold the ball well and try to get it to Messi and Villa when possible but Madrid's defence should be good enough to hold out for the win.

 

[Ming]

Real Madrid haven't looked this strong going into El Cassico for a long time.

They also got one up on Barca in the Copa Del Rey Final but when Madrid aren't organised and determined (VERY organised and determined) not only can they lose but it can end VERY badly just like it did when they lost 5-0 and got knocked out of the Champions League by Barca. Barca haven't been top dogs in Spain so far this season but they still play their football and are keeping up with Madrid, Guardiola would do well to remind his players of how important this match is. The points produced from the El Classico fixtures can be the difference come the end of the season as proven in recent years.

I know Madrid are playing the best they have under Mourinho, well, the best they have in years and it will be interesting to see how Barca chase them and act under pressure as they will in this match but I've got a feeling that Madrid would be too happy with 1 point to attack like they have in recent matches and risk falling short, giving Barca 3 vital points.

So I think Madrid will be cautious, more cautious than they have been recently and match Barca's strength for a point.

 

[OwenHart100%legend]

Real have been in fine form while Barca have shown a few cracks especially defensively but really those faults with the Barca defence have always been present but never exposed, teams have learnt to frustrate Barca and hit them on the counter a ploy adopted by Jose with Chelsea, Inter and Madrid when facing Barca in the past with varied success. All the pointers are for a Madrid victory, however what I think makes this interesting is the mental scars that must remain from the way Barca took apart Madrid at various points last season, coupled with the fact that everyone fancies Madrid to win and that itself brings added pressure. The madrid defence has yet to be tested but it will be on Sunday and at risk of getting splinters Im going to sit on the fence and go for a score draw with a sending off or two!

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

3-1 Barca, we really should learn that when it comes to the Classico, current form leading up to it counts for nothing!

I missed the first 2 minutes and feared for Barca seeing they were already 1-0 down. Real just seemed to play a containing game though that was still set up to stop Barca playing rather than go for the jugular. Barca's passing game wasn't as sharp and accurate as it usually was due to Madrid pressing them all over the pitch, but it looked like they were going for the frustrate - counter-attack tactics rather than try and pin Barca back by their own attacking play.

Sanchez in the first half was pissing me off with his gesturing for a card in the 5th minute or so and rolling around after some tackles. Hate seeing that kind of thing along with players crowding the referee, but compared to the past few Classico's this one wasn't as bad-blooded which was nice to see.

I think I'm right in saying Real have one more game before the winter break in Spain, so it'll be interesting to see how they respond to last night's disappointment, but it sets up the second half of the season quite nicely!

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I still think Madrid will take La Liga this time. I know Barca looked good last time but they are starting to show a bit of toothlessness going against well stup mid level clubs.

Madrid's attacking is lethal but yesterday, believe it or not,I think Puyol appearance swayed he result. He was masterful in his role.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I still think Madrid will take La Liga this time. I know Barca looked good last time but they are starting to show a bit of toothlessness going against well stup mid level clubs.

Madrid's attacking is lethal but yesterday, believe it or not,I think Puyol appearance swayed he result. He was masterful in his role.

Yeh I think that's a good point, Puyol is a frigging beast and did a great job keeping Ronaldo and Benzema fairly quiet. Diarra for Madrid did a pretty good job marking Messi for the most part too, but Messi's run to set up Sanchez for the first goal showed even if you can stop Messi 8 times out of 10, he can still do damage the 2 times you don't stop him.

Xavi and Iniesta were both masterful in the second half too and looked more like the players they were last season. Their touch, turns and movement in small spaces was exquisite on some occassions as they relied on their skill and awareness to negate Madrid's pressing tactics.

A big talking point seems to be should Messi have been sent off in the first half. He was quite lucky to get away with the tackle on Alonso, but it was mis-timed rather than malicious, and I don't believe every mis-timed tackle or foul after a yellow should lead to another yellow card.

 

[Smartie]

I must say I'm dissapointed.

I thought that this is gonna be the one time that actually Madrid dominates and proves that they have closed the gap, but It evidently seems the other way around.

Barca is still a superior force. They are a better team and it's like they have figured out everything, while Madrid still can be shocked or confused by a strong side.

The reason that Madrid has been getting better results is that they have more motivation. Last season they kinda lost it all to Barca and this season there are a lot of people on this team that feel the urge to win. Barca on the other hand won everything last season, and seemingly without trying that hard. El Clasico is enough to kick more than enough motivation into any player or Coach, So we saw the good old Barca schooling Madrid once again.

As far as who's gonna grab the trophy, I must say it can go both ways. Madrid probably can't beat Barca in their future meetings in this season, but they can be as good facing other teams, so they pretty much have the same amount of chance. Having said that, I personally give the edge to Barca.