El Clasico - Messi Vs Renaldo

I have been covering the English Premier League (EPL) for some time now with an apparent bias towards the Spanish equivalent "La Liga".  There comes a point however where we have to leave everything we are doing, scrap all plans and tune in to our "televisión Española", or find a LIVE STREAM to watch La Liga. All eyes are on Spain today and its Real Madrid FC versus FC Barcelona.

This is a match between the two richest and most successful clubs in world football, representing Spain's two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona.  Real Madrid this time will play host to FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Spanish Capital. There is of course a political history which we will not get into here, save for the arguments that Barcelona is thought to be associated with Catalan Nationalism whereas Real Madrid is linked to Spanish Nationalism.  This explains why FC Barcelona is often referred to as the Catalans. Catalonia is an autonomous community in the northeast of  Spain bordering France and the Mediterranean sea. For a complete reading on Spain and its autonomous communities visit Española

In La Liga this meeting happens twice per year/season and from my recolection it has never disappointed.  In Spain they call it "El Clasisco" and believe it or not it is called "El Clasico in any other country, region or language.  It is a household name that goes back to over a century ago when they first met on 13 May 1902.  Since then they have met in the league 162 times with the following statistics:

Real Madrid wins	68
FC Barcelona wins	63
Draws	31
Real Madrid goals	263
FC Barcelona goals	252
Total matches	162

Source (Wikipedia)

Importantly every meeting between the two teams official or unofficial is an "El Clasico", but we will focus on the league meetings for now.

Today we will witness El Clasiso with a difference because Real Madrid has not won El Clasico since May 7, 2008 and we are sensing that this will change. In the last meeting there was a 1-1 draw with Messi and Renaldo providing the scoring so it is fittingly appropriate that they should go head to head again today.  They are both in peak form and shape, sharing the top spot on the scoring table with 17 goals each.

In the Lionel Messi/ Pep Guardiola era we have never seen Barcelona going into El Clasico as the underdogs.  As it stands Real Madrid are odds on favorites to win today's game. The club powered by Christiano Renaldo sits three (3) points clear at the top of La Liga with a game in hand, so if they were to win today's game it would be a virtual nine (9) point mountain for the Catalans to climb if they have ambitions of defending their league title.

Meanwhile the recent form of Real Madrid is just astounding.  Every performance since their loss to Levante on 18th September has been a "special one".  They are unbeaten in 16 games in all competitions and I can't see them losing at home today.  That said however, I also do not see Barcelona giving up more than one goal. 

We expect a tough game nestled in the usual El Clasico flair. With Renaldo, Xabi and Sergio Ramos well rested after sitting out midweek champions league fixture, they should come out with a special energy.  Barcelona similarly deployed a second team for their midweek fixture and also goes into the Bernabeu fresh and energized.  

David Villa is expected to start up front supported by Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Pedro or Sanchez.  Adriano is in doubt due to injury worries but could make an appearance late on.  For Real the trio of Renaldo, Ozil and Di Maria should lead the charge, supported by Alonzo and Pepe in the midfield engine. Carvalho is out due to injury but kaka is available after his comeback match in midweek.  The full Line up should look like this:

Real Madrid: Casilles; Diarra, Albiol, Ramos, Marcelo; Pepe, Alonso, Coentrao; Ronaldo, Benzema/Ozil, Di Maria

Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal; Mascherano, Xavi, Iniesta; Sanchez/Pedro, Messi, Villa

Our predictions lie with a Real Madrid win because this is an opportunity of a lifetime for Jose Mourinho and "The Special One" will not let it slip, even if it means winning ugly.  The scoreline is likely to be 2 - 1 with Messi scoring for Barca and Ronaldo and Ozil for Real.

For Live action tune in to your Fox Soccer Channel or check out our favorite streaming link LIVE STREAM

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