Showing posts with label El Clásico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label El Clásico. Show all posts

Friday, 2 December 2016

Real Madrid XI: A player-by-player guide to Zinedine Zidane's side for el clásico


It's the biggest football match on the planet, and it's this Saturday.
El clásico pits two of the world's finest, most-successful clubs head-to-head and this weekend's fixture is laden with storylines to unpick and things to watch out for.
But first and foremost it's going to be about the three points on the line and the eleven players on the field as Real Madrid look to extend their lead atop La Liga.
Zinedine Zidane has some tough line-up decisions to make if he's to counter Barcelona's threat, but he has fewer injuries than his counterpart, Luis Enrique. but who will Zizou choose? lets takes a look:

Keylor Navas

The Costa Rican impressed everyone at World Cup 2014, and when he’s been given the opportunity at Real Madrid he has similarly dazzled.
So close to leaving the club on deadline day last summer, Navas was one of Madrid's best players as they won the Champions League under Zinedine Zidane.
He will need to be at his best to keep the Barca frontline at bay.
Dani Carvajal
The Spain full-back has fought off €30million worth of competition, so if he’s fully fit you’d always expect him to edge out Danilo with the Brazilian having experienced an up-and-down first season in La Liga last year.
Carvajal will have a hell of a task in keeping Neymar quiet down that side, as the Barca man has been in sensational form recently.
But he’s locked him down before and this is going to be one of the key battles that decides this game.

Sergio Ramos

The Real Madrid skipper has struggled for form for the last 18 months and has increasingly been exposed by pace, with Mohamed Salah running riot against him in the Champions League knockout stages last season.
He needs to adapt his game to rediscover the form that made him one of the world's best at the position, though nobody can question his will to win.
Expect him to be really up for this game, but whether that will be enough to subdue Messi and co. is another question entirely.

Raphael Varane

The Frenchman has utterly frightening pace for a defender and that will be ideal when faced with a forward line like this.
Pepe's experience will be missed, especially when it comes to dealing with Luis Suarez's off-the-ball provocations.

Marcelo


Prone to leaving space in behind, Marcelo is a player often targeted by top-class opposition.
Roma and Paris Saint-Germain tried as much in the Champions League with some success last year, but despite an injury you’d have to say that the Brazilian remains the club's best option at left-back.
If Nacho were to start there instead then it would send a very negative message, and it would be a shock if Zidane benched Marcelo.

Casemiro


The midfielder has been excellent since breaking into the team as Rafa Benitez's (much-maligned) defensive shield.
Zinedine Zidane kept him in the team after taking over and the Brazilian suddenly became acceptable, so much so that when his long-term injury was announced earlier this season there was serious consternation.
Casemiro has no like-for-like backup in the squad and Madrid have had to improvise to get by without him. His return from injury will be huge.

Luka Modrić


Real Madrid’s metronome and one of their most important players.
The Croat has been sensational over the last two seasons and still doesn't get the plaudits he deserves.
If they're to have a chance of winning this game, it will be because Modric has taken over the midfield.

Mateo Kovacic


Learning from his idol, the young Croatian midfielder looked almost certain to return to Italy on loan after a first season in Spain that saw him get little gametime and make little impact.
Having take advantage of injuries in midfield, Kovacic's energy in the centre of the park has helped to keep Madrid's momentum going even when shorthanded.

Lucas Vazquez


The young Spaniard broke into the team under Rafa Benitez after demonstrating work-rate and defensive awareness on the flank.
While Marco Asensio's rise has threatened Vazquez's playing time, the 25-year-old is a far more reliable performer and will play a key role in tracking Barcelona's full-backs at the Nou Camp.
Hidden beneath all that is that Vazquez is a danger in attack as well.

Cristiano Ronaldo


The Portuguese lit up this fixture in the spring with a sensational late winner and, if he can repeat that, he could virtually put the league title to bed before Christmas.
That would be quite a way to celebrate his monster new deal.

Karim Benzema

Alvaro Morata has probably outplayed him but Benzema's long-standing chemistry with Ronaldo has saved his spot in the starting XI.
That may not last for too much longer but bagging a vital goal in the clásico is likely to buy him some time.

Missing out

James Rodriguez will likely have to settle for a place on the bench, as will Isco - but with the Spaniard having a chance of starting if Casemiro isn't fit. The defensive back-up is Nacho , while Danilo's inconsistent displays will likely see him benched.

Saturday, 25 October 2014

El Clásico

                                        El Clásico


 Real Madrid against Barcelona is never just an ordinary game of football, and the dazzling array of plots and subplots means this weekend's meeting at the Bernabeu is surrounded by more anticipation than ever.              

In a continuation of their absurd and hysterical arms race, Real Madrid and Barcelona both bought some of the biggest attacking stars in world football this summer. But because we've already had the pleasure of watching quite a bit of James Rodriguez in a white shirt, the spotlight in this edition of El Clásico is on one man in blaugrana: Luis Suarez. 

The global television audience for Saturday's game will be colossal, with estimates placing the number of worldwide viewers between 400 and 500 million.

Although it is a source of considerable irritation for British fans who will be unable to watch the first 15 minutes because of broadcasting regulations, La Liga's authorities have done their best to boost the audience by scheduling kick-off for 6pm local time (17:00 BST). 
Ronaldo Vs Messi: Lionel Messi's left-footed strike in Saturday's 3-0         victory over Eibartook him to the milestone of 250 career goals in La Liga, leaving the Barcelona man just one behind the record held by 1940s Athletic Bilbao star Telmo Zarra.
The tantalising prospect of Messi breaking the all-time Spanish goalscoring record against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu has not, as you would expect, gone unnoticed in Spain. 


22 - Ronaldo in a league of his own 

Even by his own outrageously high standards, Real's Ronaldo has enjoyed a purple patch in the opening two months of the season, with a La Liga goals-per-game sequence of 1-1-3-4-1-3-2.
With 15 strikes to his name, Ronaldo has registered more goals in the opening eight rounds of the season than any other player in La Liga history, a feat all the more remarkable for the fact that he missed one of those games - a 4-2 defeat against Real Sociedad.
Perhaps the craziest statistic to provide some perspective to the Portugal star's hot streak is that he has scored more league goals this season than 81 of the 98 teams in Europe's five major leagues, including Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal.
And Ronaldo's three hat-tricks this term have taken his career La Liga tally of trebles to 22, putting him joint level at the top of the pile with Zarra and Alfredo Di Stefano.
Ronaldo breaking the all-time hat-trick record and Messi setting a new all-time goalscoring record in the same game? With these two extraordinary players, anything is possible.

"Cristiano ronaldo in his best of form, Is there anyone who is gonna stop this goal machine? I hope not."

500 - Can you hear them?

Barcelona fans
Will Barca's 500 fanatical fans be celebrating at the Bernabeu on Saturday night?

Barcelona will face a decidedly hostile atmosphere inside the Bernabeu, with only 500 of their supporters tucked away in a corner high inside the grand old stadium.
The small allocation made available to the visitors is nothing unusual because Spanish football simply does not have a culture of fans travelling to away games.

Projected lineups

Real Madrid (4-4-2)Iker Casillas; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Dani Carvajal; Isco,Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez; Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema
Barcelona (4-3-3)Claudio BravoJordi Alba, Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique, Dani AlvesJavier Mascherano, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta; Neymar, Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez
Suarez could make a start in the first game he's eligible for, but since he's yet to play in a match, it's hard to pick him to start. Because Busquets is hurt, Javier Mascherano will move up the pitch in his absence. Both teams have goalkeeper dilemmas, but it's tough to pick against the two who have been first choice in the league this season.
 Prediction

At their best, Madrid have looked unstoppable at this season. And at their worst, they've looked like a team that can be easily carved up by average sides. Their attacking talent (and Barcelona's questionable defense) leaves open the possibility that they could score six goals in this game.

"Ronaldo and Messi are, if anything, better than last season. It is so hard to call but I would go for Real to edge it this time. It will be full of absolutely everything - quality, intensity and lots of incident. It is becoming an unmissable event."