18 Yard Box looks at the key battles on the field when Barcelona take on Real Madrid in the league's first El Classico.
An amazing spectacle awaits us when the two teams will get the ball rolling in less than 5 hours time. However, this mega battle has in store for us some small personal duels on the pitch.
18 Yard Box has a look at three duels such duels that might decide the outcome of the match.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s back to back hat-trick will give a huge boost to his dying confidence. If Barcelona have to mark any man, it has to be him. Going against Dani Alves, whom he has faced on countless of occasions, Ronaldo will surely know the tricks of the trade to get past him. His technique coupled with his shooting ability can fool any defence in the world. With the support of Marcelo behind him, he can run ring around the weak Barcelona defence and can pounce on any opportunity that they make.
When defending is concerned Dani Alves is certainly not the man you want to have in the team. Brilliant in attacking but lacklusture in going back, the Brazilian full back has been given the license to kill with the amount of possession Barcelona have. However he will have to weary of the threat Ronaldo possess especially on the break and will have to get his runs checked to control him.
With the tenacity of the clash, we can expect the Portuguese to get the better of the Samba boy in this time around as his pace and trickery will be the key to unlock the not so sturdy Barcelona defence.
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The linchpins of both their teams, the two midfielders will be at it again to cancel each other out. Xavi has controlled the Barcelona midfield since a very long time and it will be him again who will be leading the side as he takes on their nemesis and arch rivals Madrid in a winner takes all clash. Having a vision which very few possess, Xavi with his incisive passes and also the aide of Iniesta can tear open the Madrid defence. However, going past Khedira and Alonso will be a matter which Xavi has to deal with. His long balls will have to be watched for by the Madrid defence as he and David Villa can combine to pull the capital down.
His counterpart and his opposition of the day is no different from what Xavi himself is. A box to box midfielder, Xabi Alonso has his work cut out for today. The former Liverpool midfield has to keep the Barcelona midfield at bay and also has to create opportunities for Benzema and Co. to take them through the tie. His long balls will be a problem for the Barcelona make-shift centre back pairing of Alex Song and Pique or Mascherano as they are prone to such heighted deliveries. Moreover, he will also be responsible to keep the ball away from the Barcelona midfield who are very good at closing the man down.
All in all a mouth watering clash awaits us and it remains to be see who dominates who. With Iniesta and Fabregas by his side, Xavi starts as favourite but only time will tell. |
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| Another clash to look forward to is the one between the little Argentine and the burly Pepe. The two will be at it again and it surely will be enticing. Lionel Messi has been Barcelona's best player by a long shot. His dribbling ability coupled with his eye for goals has earned him the reputation of being the best player of the world. However, his task will not be that simple as he goes against the Portuguese defender. Iniesta and Messi both possess the potential to unlock the Madrid defence but will have to do their best if they are keen to break the new Ramos- Pepe partnership which has been effective for Madrid so far. Messi needs to be clever and will have to be weary of the tackles the Portuguese will be greeting him with and would do well to draw fouls from him as he often has done in the past. On the flip side, Pepe needs to check his hard tackling game if he has to control Messi and Co. He needs to be tactically sound and not rush into hasty decisions which could get him sent off. Pepe should not be having problems dealing with long balls but has to be extremely careful before going gung ho and tackling Messi. The little Argentine has the ability to skip past challenges and draw fouls in the crucial areas and Pepe has to be aware of that fact. Again a crucial tie but Messi leads the way to win this and may bring the curtains down on the Real Madrid title ambitions today. |
Written By,
Rishabh Ghai
Rishabh is a writer for Goal.com India, International (all English editions) and an Editor and writer for 18 Yard Box
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