El clasico: forget the hype, dz is the biggest football on earth

REAL MADRID V BARCELONA
PREVIEW: INIESTA TARGETS CLASICO
PERFECTION
By Chris Myson

The new Blaugrana skipper hopes to cap his
first Clasico with the armband with a perfect
performance and victory over their fierce rivals
Andres Iniesta says Barcelona will need to
produce a performance that is close to
perfection if they are to beat Real Madrid in the
Clasico.
Saturday's clash at the Santiago Bernabeu is
set up perfectly, with the sides first and second
in La Liga and hoping to have fully fit squads
available.
Sergio Ramos is expected to play through the
pain barrier with a shoulder problem for hosts
Madrid, who have recently welcomed back
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James
Rodriguez to fitness.
Barca have been without Lionel Messi with a
knee problem since September, but their
Argentine talisman looks increasingly likely to
be passed fit, as does Ivan Rakitic (calf).
Iniesta will captain his side against Madrid for
the first time and is targeting an away victory
that would move them six points clear of their
fierce rivals at the top of La Liga.
"These are very unpredictable games, two
teams with the kind of player who can change a
game at any moment," he said.
"If there is one thing we need to be clear about
it is ourselves. We have our idea of playing
football, we have our way of organising our play
and we shouldn't make any mistakes which
give them a chance.
"Let's just hope it is a great spectacle and that
we play a great game as that would be a big
step towards getting a good result. It is my first
Clasico as captain but there is no need to
motivate people for this game.
READ MORE | How Barca could line
up against Real Madrid
"We have to play a game which is practically
perfect, as they can cause us damage too. We
have to play well to counter their game.
"But rather than thinking about what Real
Madrid do, we have to be clear that we have to
be the protagonists, dominate and take the
chances we get while minimising the mistakes
we make."
Madrid come into the game under pressure.
Rafael Benitez's performance as head coach
has come under scrutiny amid a slump in form
from star forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has
only netted in four of his side's 11 league games
in 2015-16.
Defeat to Sevilla last time out was Madrid's first
in the league this season and the returning Bale
hopes he can make a positive impact in such a
crucial contest, as he did in the Copa del Rey
final between the sides in 2014.
He said to Bwin : "The goal against Barca in the
Copa del Rey is among my most favourite of my
career and it is one that will be etched in my
memory for a long time.
"My speed and strength make it hard for
defenders, so that is always a plus for us. I
have to keep giving my very best and training
hard in order to help the team win.
"We are on a good run of form and have only
lost one match so far, although there is room
for improvement. I hope we improve over the
course of the season and go on to win the title.
"I have been out with injuries for maybe six
weeks now, so I haven't played as much as I
would have liked but I feel strong and fit going
into this game."
The home side has won in three of the last five
league Clasicos, with Luis Suarez netting the
winner in a 2-1 win for Barca at Camp Nou in
the last meeting in March.

Projected lineups, El Clásico 2015: Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
Will Messi and Benzema start? Will James?
Marcelo, Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos and Benzema are all available, according to Benítez. Still, are they fit enough to start? Real Madrid need them, so Benítez will most likely take his chances and let them play in Real Madrid's most important game of the 2015/2016 season so far. Real Madrid: Keylor, Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Luka Modric, James, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema. Barcelona: Claudio Bravo , Jordi Alba , Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves; Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar It would be strange to see Messi on the bench even considering that he has been out for the last 2 months with a knee injury. All things considered, both teams appear to be healthy and ready to go, so neither Benítez nor Luis Enrique will be able to make any kind of excuse after the game. Expect a game played with a lot of intensity between these two rivals.

How have Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel
Messi fared in El Clasicos?
Messi has the much better record over his rival.

Ronaldo VS Messi

23 MATCHES 30

15 GOALS 21 (most all-time)

1 ASSISTS 13

6 WINS 15

6 DRAWS 7

11 DEFEATS 8

El Clásico Facts
• In the last nine league Clásicos, both sides have managed to score which makes it the second longest such sequence, after the two teams did so on 13 occasions between 1946 and 1952
• In the last seven Madrid-Barça fixtures in the league, the Catalans have gotten the better of the side from the capital with four wins, one draw and two defeats. If all competitions are considered, Barça again are on top with six wins, three draws and three defeats.
• Madrid and Barça have met in Week 12 of La Liga on seven occasions. The blaugranes have won the last three (2004, 2005 and 2009) and did not concede in any of those matches.
• Andrés Iniesta has made the most Clásico appearances of any Barça player currently in the squad, with 31 matches against Madrid in all competitions. The Barça player with the most appearances in the fixture is Xavi Hernandez who featured 42 times against Madrid with a record of 17 wins, 12 draws and 13 defeats.
• Rafa Benitez has faced Barça on 12 occasions, as manager of Valladolid, Extremadura, Valencia and Liverpool: seven wins, one draw and four losses. Lionel Messi is closing in for the most La Liga Clásico goals. In his 18 matches against Madrid, he has scored 14 times, the same number as Alfredo Di Stéfano. Also of significance is the fact that the Argentine has scored eight of those in the capital.
• Real Madrid have not lost in their last 22 league matches at home (19 wins and three draws).
• Barça have scored in their last 15 league matches on the road (41 goals with an average of 2.7 per game).
• The current top three scorers in La Liga belong to either Barça or Madrid. Neymar Jr. is top of the pack with eleven goals, Luis Suárez follows with nine while Cristiano Ronaldo has eight.

Barca all da way!!!

uzolexis:
Barca all da way!!!

We hope so!

Why are there sweeping rumours about Perez's plan to sack Benitez should Madrid lose this match? It's only a three-point difference and wouldn't exceed six no matter what happens later tonight . But I think this is about Ronald's disillusionment towards Benitez's defensive obsession on field.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Rakitic; Iniesta, Suarez, Neymar.

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; James, Kroos, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo. TEAM NEWS...

Messi benched,guess he'll come in sometime during the game.