Part 1: Spanish La Liga; Real Zaragoza vs. Barcelona – Preview
The Spanish side Barcelona is going to travel to La Romareda to take on a club that is currently at the bottom of the table, Real Zaragoza. The game promises a lot of emotion and excitement as Barcelona fans are expecting Lionel Messi to give another spectacular performance, just like he gave during the last season.
In case Barcelona wins the game, the Catalan giants are going to be at the top of the table, only for a few hours, as Real Madrid’s game is going to take place later and their fate relies on the outcome of the match. Zaragoza are currently struggling at the bottom half of the table while Barcelona are in great form away from home, and in their last two games they have defeated the Danish Champions FC Copenhagen along with the Spanish La Liga toppers Valencia who are not at the top anymore.
Even though the Catalan giants are going to face a side that is not very well settled at the moment, their coach Josep Pep Guardiola has advised them not to take their opponents lightly as any team in the Spanish La Liga can shine any day. Guardiola has already told the press that he expects a tough game as his side is going to go away from home.
On the other hand, the Real Zaragoza manager has nothing but words of respect for the current La Liga champions. He admitted that the team he is playing is going to be tough and the team’s captain said:
“We need a win, but we are up against a fantastic team and frankly, a draw would be a good result.”
Moreover, their manager Jose Aurelio g*y said:
“Barca will have most of the possession, they are looking even better than last season. Logic dictates that they will win, but football is a sport where logic doesn’t always apply.”
With such great amount of respect coming from the other team, the game is definitely going to be disciplined and there are not going to be many bookings during the game. Some teams are definitely rough whenever they are the hosts, but Real Zaragoza respect the Catalan club and are definitely going to concentrate on quality football rather than playing rough.
Barcelona are going to welcome their first choice goalkeeper, Victor Valdes back as the Catalan number 1 was ruled out during the game against the Danish Champions Copenhagen. He could not be a part of the team because his stomach was upset, but now the Spaniard has fully recovered and is going to be standing between the two poles.
The midfield mastermind, Xavi Hernandez and the Argentinean defender Gabriel Milito, both are going to be out of the weekend clash against Real Zaragoza. Xavi Hernandez can play but the Spanish coach Pep Guardiola has decided to rest him as the player has played a lot of games and needs to be rested. Xavi got an ankle “problem” during the game against Valencia. He also played for the last fifteen minutes, in the game against the Danish Champions FC Copenhagen. Now Xavi Hernandez is not going to feature and the Spanish Champions are definitely going to miss him as he is the best that they have in the centre midfield.
On the other hand, the young B team player Thiago is now added back into the squad as Guardiola did not include him in the squad that featured against Copenhagen.
Josep Pep Guardiola played a very different formation against Copenhagen in the midweek fixture as his favourite 4-3-3 was not played and a 4-1-2-1-2 was being played. As Lionel Messi and David Villa were the two who featured up front, it was Andres Iniesta who played as a box to box player.
Tags: