4 more Clasicos, any one?

Hidy-ho,



Well...



Let's start with the expected Saturday line-up:

F:   Messi, Villa, Pedro (a.k.a., MVP, as fellow www.BarcelonaFootballBlog.com colleagues would say)

M:  Xavi, Iniesta, Keita

D:  Adriano, Pique, Busquets, Alves



Madrid should field a "familiar" team to hide a potentially different CL line-up:

F:    Benzema

W:  De Maria, Cristiano

M:  Xabi, Ozil, Khidera

D:   Marcelo, Carvalho, Pepe, Ramos



Reserves: Kaka for Ozil or Xabi, and Higuain or Adebayor for Benzema, and Diarra for Khidera.



Both coaches have declared their intentions to send in their best players and the Big Mouth has all his strikers on the ready (the Frenchman, the Togolese, the Portuguese, & the Argentinian).  I expect a tough game, in which the Big Mouth's battle tactic is to weaken FCB as part of his overall CL/Copa del Rey War Strategy.  Imagine, FCB without an injured Messi or a Xavi, or Pique for the next 3 weeks.  It will be easy for Ramos and Pepe to squash the smaller FCB player.  Moron-hu plays defensive football and will give the nod to his players to be "extra" physical.  I hope the referee will be able to keep Madrid under control, especially in front of their crowd.



Personally, I would be happy to concede a draw against a maturer Madrid team and focus our strength on the CL, for if the Big Mouth can't make it to the CL, he'll make sure that FCB will pay the price.  I can imagine him plotting his "scorched earth" plan; FCB will be so weak by the time they get to the final (if they do), even the opponents B team will give FCB a hard time.



On the other hand, a simple 1 goal victory at White Castle's (not the burger joint) would strike a severe mental blow to the Madridistas, who are desperately seeking revenge for the past 5 losses and especially for the last 5-0 humiliation, in order to believe in themselves again.



Copa del Rey:

I think that team B got the Copa and deserve to play the Copa even if they do get mauled:



F:     Afellay, Jeffren, and an MVP component (I feel sorry for Bojan, he's just so unlucky)

M:    Thiago, Dos Santos, and Keita

D:     Maxwell, Milito, Fontas, and Alves

KG:  Pinto



I say let's give this bone to the dogs, even though I think that this dog is smart enough to not take the bait and is OBSESSED in the T-Bone steak, the Champions League, after having tasted it twice before.



Champions League:

The loss of Moron-hu's rock in defense Carvalho is a severe blow, especially with hot-heads Pepe and Ramos.  This aspect should lessen the severity of our own losses in defense (Puyol and Abidal) rendering Madrid prone to our attacks.  Recall that Madrid's players are not used to playing on three fronts at the same time.  We have to win in the first leg when Madrid is without Carvalho!!!



Expected FCB CL Line-up:

F:    Messi, Villa, Pedro

M:   Iniesta, Xavi, Mascehrano

D:    Adriano, Pique, Busquets, and Alves



I have to admit, I did not think that the Big Mouth could bring the players this far.



Overall, we only need to win 2 of the 4 four games but not the Cope del Rey.



All the best!

Why Real Madrid will finally break the last-16 jinx?

Hello reader,

Here are the reasons why I believe Madrid will defeat Lyon:

First, Benzema is an ex-Lyon striker who knows his French league opponents well, similar to Ibrahimovic and the Italian League.  Benzema was effective against Auxerre (scoring a hat-trick) and Lyon in the Champions League, and with Bilbao, Levante, Malaga, Racing Santander, and Hercules in La Liga.  His braces against the last four minnows show he is more confident and will not give up his place to new arrival Adebayor.

Second, Madrid has Moron-who was Louis Van Gaal’s interpreter at Barcelona and the self-titled “Special One” who knows how to bring about the best in his players.  Moron-who was brought in to alleviate Madrid of its Champions League drought – which interestingly coincided with his successes with FC Porto and Inter Milan.  Moron-who will most probably play defense to protect Madrid’s away goal, the way he did against Barcelona when he was with Inter Milan and can afford to, especially since Lyon is not a high-scoring machine.  Furthermore, Moron-who is a Sun Tzu Art of War style master tactician who between today and Wednesday, will have said something to agitate Lyon enough for them to lose their cool.

Third, Cristiano R. is not playing which typically means a more efficient Madrid team.  C.R. tends to shot on goal from long range distances wasting Madrid’s opportunities.  C.R. is also known for being stingy with the ball, although he has been an effective partner to Benzema lately.  Thus if he does play, Madrid will have better scoring chances if he decides to keep feeding Benzema rather than  focus on beating Messi for most goals scored.

Fourth, Madrid should have a healthy Defensive Line who will play a hard and physical game and shut out Lyon.

Fifth, lousy refereeing means that Madrid can and will get dangerously physical and get away with it.

Lastly, history is irrelevant! The fact that Lyon have been the team that has done away with Madrid is irrelevant when you factor all the above and that Madrid has the crucial away goal.  Nonetheless, Lyon knows it has to attack and has a chance of striking fear into the hearts of the Madridistas if they can score at the Bernabeu.  Viva Olympique Lyonnais!

Please feel free to share your thoughts and take a look at the nice deals from Amazon, I think I'll treat myself to the Official Crested maroon colored cap.  

All the best!