La Liga
Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Camp Nou, Spain
Sun, Nov 29 2009
kick off:18:00 GMT

It will be an occasion unlike no other, a mouth-watering spectacle that will attract an audience from every nation on earth
If you don’t like football, it’s the worst place on earth to be.

It’s the start of an intense week for both teams, who in nine days will have three matches to play. Real Madrid took control of the league table last Saturday by defeating Racing Santander 1-0 at the Bernabeu.  The stretch of matches now passes through the Camp Nou, where Real Madrid hope to earn three points, maintain the top spot in the table and distance themselves even further from their closest pursuer with another three league matches to play before the Christmas stoppage.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Leo Messi are also available for the Clasico, but it still isn’t known whether either or both will be among Barcelona’s starting eleven. “We will see how they feel and talk to the doctors,” said Pep Guardiola during his pre-match press conference. On the positive end, it’s the first time all season that the Catalan coach has all 21 players available, meaning that on Sunday three will have to be scratched from the roster.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have met on 158 occasions with the Whites holding a narrow advantage of 68 wins, 30 draws and 60 defeats. Real Madrid also hold the upper hand in terms of the number of goals scored, 262 compared to Barcelona’s 243. from realmadrid.com

Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain and Pepe picked apart the keys the Clasico for several different Spanish media outlets.

Pepe:
“Despite the difficulties adjusting, we are first in La Liga and our Champions League group. Everyone who criticized us must keep in mind that we will be four points ahead of Barcelona if we win. And that’s not by playing at our best level.”

“I am no easily scared. Neither are my teamates. This Real Madrid squad is spectacular. Florentino did a great job and now it’s time to return the confidence that was placed in us when the season began.”

“Barcelona have been playing the same style of football for many years, and we beat them 0-1 during one of those seasons, for example. We are searching for a new identity and we must understand one another.”

“Barcelona are very attack oriented and they move the ball fast but with very few touches. We won’t just slow them down. We will also surprise them. I think we have more reasons to catch them off guard them this because of who we have in attack. Madrid is a great team and will not only play to defend.”

“Cristiano is a player who tips the balance in his favor and doesn’t just give us solutions in attack. Whether we are dominating the match or not, the opponent will be worried about him and wary of his movements. Alves uses the whole wing for Barcelona, so he will think twice before doing so if Cristiano is on the pitch. It could be deadly for his team.”

Sergio Ramos:
“We want fans to enjoy the match. We are worried about our ups and downs. We must try harder and pressure all at once, like we did against Milan.”

“It may come back to bite us if we join our lines and go for the match on the last third of the pitch. If we score, they will fall apart. We came out full throttle last year in the Bernabeu, created chances and scored a goal. We then fell back and then began to touch the ball and score a lot. That cannot happen again. We must pressure up front.”

Guardiola
“This game is a priority for me – there is nothing more important for us”, according to Pep, “We’ve prepared it very thoroughly and the line up against Kiev hasn’t come into my reckoning”.

The stars are out tonight!
Should they play, Messi and Ibrahimovic will feature in a star studded game: their own performances will be measured against their opposite numbers Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema and there are big names all over the pitch. Valdés and Casillas in goal, Piqué and Albiol (doubtful with a knee injury) represent the present and the future for the heart of Spain’s defence, Xavi Hernández and Iniesta face Xabi Alonso and Kaká in midfield…… this is going to be the biggest collection of stars on Planet Football!

SQUAD LIST
Real Madrid:
Goalkeepers Casillas, Dudek
Defenders Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Albiol, Garay
Midfielders Diarra, Kaka, Lass, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso, Granero, Van der Vaart
Forwards Raul, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain
Referee
Mr. Undiano Mallenco

Tags: Barcelona, Real Madrid

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