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La Liga Preview: Barcelona - Malaga
After midweek disappointment, la Blaugrana must get their campaign back on track against their Andalusian opponents...
Feb 26, 2010 9:00:00 AM
By Robin Bairner
Kick Off: Saturday, February 27, 2010. 22:00 CET
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Criticised
Barcelona are hardly in the middle of a crisis period, but it’s about as close as head coach Pep Guardiola has come to one since taking charge of the Catalan giants. His side will be expected to resoundingly answer their critics when they meet Malaga in Camp Nou on Saturday night.
It could be that the Blaugrana have been shunted off top spot in La Primera Division by that stage as Real Madrid, who are two points behind Barca going into the weekend fixtures, kick off a couple of earlier against relegation threatened Tenerife. This will only add to the burden of pressure Guardiola’s men carry into this fixture.
Following defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga - their first serious set-back of the league campaign - Barcelona failed to convince their critics last weekend, despite recording a seemingly comfortable 4-0 success over Racing Santander. Tuesday night’s somewhat uncomfortable draw with Stuttgart has only added to a mix of mediocre results from the Camp Nou side of late.
While the media try to summarise the ‘downfall’ of Pep’s Perils, some pundits have tried to take a more measured approach when considering Barca’s recent slump. Amongst those is Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who has pointed to the injury and selection problems that have been abound in the champions’ squad of late.
Indeed, such is the expectancy of Barca to perform, it’s been widely overlooked that the Catalans drew all of their knockout away games 1-1 en route to the Champions League title last term.
Nevertheless, all of Europe’s top clubs demand prolonged success in the present era, and even a mini-collapse can be considered a worrying sign. Barcelona will be going all out at Camp Nou to dispel recent worries and (probably) reclaim top spot.
Justifiable Hope
With only one loss in their last 14 Liga matches, Malaga certainly don’t travel to Camp Nou as whipping boys. The only league loss suffered by Juan Ramon Muniz’s side since a 1-0 loss against Valencia on November 1 has been a 2-0 away reverse at the hands of Real Madrid.
Situated 13th in La Primera, the only thing holding the Andalusians back of late has been their propensity to draw far too frequently. Over the course of their impressive run, Muniz’s side have picked up only five wins, though four of these have come in the club’s last six matches.
The offence of the Rosaleda club has only managed to score more than two goals on just a couple of occasions this term, though their rearguard has remained pretty steady throughout, often conceding, but rarely more than once. Of late clean sheets have started to arrive; four in the last six representing a very solid return.
Earlier in this campaign, Malaga forced Barcelona to work for three points in Andalusia and will travel to Catalonia with a similar aim at the weekend. They can justifiably hope for at least a draw given their recent performances, though even a point against such formidable opponents would be considered a real success.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona
DREW 1-1 (a) Stuttgart (Champions League, February 23)
WON 4-0 (h) Racing Santander (Liga, February 20)
LOST 2-1 (a) Atletico Madrid (Liga, February 14)
WON 2-1 (h) Getafe (Liga, February 6)
WON 1-0 (a) Sporting de Gijon (Liga, January 30)
Malaga
WON 2-1 (h) Espanyol (Liga, February 21)
WON 3-0 (a) Racing Santander (Liga, February 14)
DREW 0-0 (h) Deportivo La Coruna (Liga, February 7)
WON 2-0 (a) Atletico Madrid (Liga, January 31)
LOST 2-0 (a) Real Madrid (Liga, January 24)
TEAM NEWS
Barcelona
Eric Abidal and Seydou Keita were not deemed fit to be involved in the 20-man travelling party in midweek. There was better news as both Xavi and Dani Alves were both named in the squad, though the latter wasn’t given any place in the matchday squad.
Probable Starting XI: Valdes; Dani Alves, Puyol, Pique, Maxwell; Xavi, Toure, Iniesta; Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry
Malaga
Jesus Gamez returned to the squad last weekend after suffering from a muscular injury but will not feature this Saturday evening after being dismissed late on against Espanyol.
Patrick Mtiliga, Apono, Helder Rosario and Jordi Pablo all continue to be injury headaches while there is also concern over Felipe Caicedo, who was withdrawn before half-time last weekend. Benachour is suspended.
Probable Starting XI: Munua; Gaspar, Weligton, Stepanov, M. Torres; Toribio, Fernando; Lopez, Baha, Duda; Obinna
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Barcelona
Thierry Henry remains a dangerous threat for Barca, despite suggestions that the former Arsenal man is past his best. Having found the net against Racing Santander last weekend he was benched for the midweek clash against Stuttgart and will want to prove that he should have featured. Rated as fourth in the latest Castrol Rankings, he is a player not to be underestimated.
Malaga
Former Barcelona Athletic player Daniel Toribio has just broken into Malaga’s first team and has shown that he’s not afraid to put himself about. The defensive midfielder has already picked up four bookings in just six starts. Such aggression must be reconciled with control against Barca, who will do their best to exploit any weakness that may be in his game, and no-one is better equipped to do that than visiting coach Pep Guardiola.
PREDICTION
It’s true that Barcelona are not at the height of their powers, and in all probability it will take them several weeks to return to their very best. Pep Guardiola will aim for that slow building process to begin against a Malaga side who have been very, very tough to beat of late, though Barca should have just about enough to pick up maximum points.
Barcelona 2-0 Malaga
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Criticised
Barcelona are hardly in the middle of a crisis period, but it’s about as close as head coach Pep Guardiola has come to one since taking charge of the Catalan giants. His side will be expected to resoundingly answer their critics when they meet Malaga in Camp Nou on Saturday night.
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £85.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £95.00 | Draw £55.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £50.00 | Barcelona £13.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £90.00 | Draw £60.00 | Barcelona £12.90 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bilbao £87.00 | Draw £53.00 | Barcelona £12.50 |
|
It could be that the Blaugrana have been shunted off top spot in La Primera Division by that stage as Real Madrid, who are two points behind Barca going into the weekend fixtures, kick off a couple of earlier against relegation threatened Tenerife. This will only add to the burden of pressure Guardiola’s men carry into this fixture.
Following defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga - their first serious set-back of the league campaign - Barcelona failed to convince their critics last weekend, despite recording a seemingly comfortable 4-0 success over Racing Santander. Tuesday night’s somewhat uncomfortable draw with Stuttgart has only added to a mix of mediocre results from the Camp Nou side of late.
While the media try to summarise the ‘downfall’ of Pep’s Perils, some pundits have tried to take a more measured approach when considering Barca’s recent slump. Amongst those is Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who has pointed to the injury and selection problems that have been abound in the champions’ squad of late.
Indeed, such is the expectancy of Barca to perform, it’s been widely overlooked that the Catalans drew all of their knockout away games 1-1 en route to the Champions League title last term.
Nevertheless, all of Europe’s top clubs demand prolonged success in the present era, and even a mini-collapse can be considered a worrying sign. Barcelona will be going all out at Camp Nou to dispel recent worries and (probably) reclaim top spot.
Justifiable Hope
With only one loss in their last 14 Liga matches, Malaga certainly don’t travel to Camp Nou as whipping boys. The only league loss suffered by Juan Ramon Muniz’s side since a 1-0 loss against Valencia on November 1 has been a 2-0 away reverse at the hands of Real Madrid.
Situated 13th in La Primera, the only thing holding the Andalusians back of late has been their propensity to draw far too frequently. Over the course of their impressive run, Muniz’s side have picked up only five wins, though four of these have come in the club’s last six matches.
The offence of the Rosaleda club has only managed to score more than two goals on just a couple of occasions this term, though their rearguard has remained pretty steady throughout, often conceding, but rarely more than once. Of late clean sheets have started to arrive; four in the last six representing a very solid return.
Earlier in this campaign, Malaga forced Barcelona to work for three points in Andalusia and will travel to Catalonia with a similar aim at the weekend. They can justifiably hope for at least a draw given their recent performances, though even a point against such formidable opponents would be considered a real success.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona
DREW 1-1 (a) Stuttgart (Champions League, February 23)
WON 4-0 (h) Racing Santander (Liga, February 20)
LOST 2-1 (a) Atletico Madrid (Liga, February 14)
WON 2-1 (h) Getafe (Liga, February 6)
WON 1-0 (a) Sporting de Gijon (Liga, January 30)
Malaga
WON 2-1 (h) Espanyol (Liga, February 21)
WON 3-0 (a) Racing Santander (Liga, February 14)
DREW 0-0 (h) Deportivo La Coruna (Liga, February 7)
WON 2-0 (a) Atletico Madrid (Liga, January 31)
LOST 2-0 (a) Real Madrid (Liga, January 24)
TEAM NEWS
Barcelona
Eric Abidal and Seydou Keita were not deemed fit to be involved in the 20-man travelling party in midweek. There was better news as both Xavi and Dani Alves were both named in the squad, though the latter wasn’t given any place in the matchday squad.
Probable Starting XI: Valdes; Dani Alves, Puyol, Pique, Maxwell; Xavi, Toure, Iniesta; Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry
Malaga
Jesus Gamez returned to the squad last weekend after suffering from a muscular injury but will not feature this Saturday evening after being dismissed late on against Espanyol.
Patrick Mtiliga, Apono, Helder Rosario and Jordi Pablo all continue to be injury headaches while there is also concern over Felipe Caicedo, who was withdrawn before half-time last weekend. Benachour is suspended.
Probable Starting XI: Munua; Gaspar, Weligton, Stepanov, M. Torres; Toribio, Fernando; Lopez, Baha, Duda; Obinna
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Barcelona
Thierry Henry remains a dangerous threat for Barca, despite suggestions that the former Arsenal man is past his best. Having found the net against Racing Santander last weekend he was benched for the midweek clash against Stuttgart and will want to prove that he should have featured. Rated as fourth in the latest Castrol Rankings, he is a player not to be underestimated.
Malaga
Former Barcelona Athletic player Daniel Toribio has just broken into Malaga’s first team and has shown that he’s not afraid to put himself about. The defensive midfielder has already picked up four bookings in just six starts. Such aggression must be reconciled with control against Barca, who will do their best to exploit any weakness that may be in his game, and no-one is better equipped to do that than visiting coach Pep Guardiola.
PREDICTION
It’s true that Barcelona are not at the height of their powers, and in all probability it will take them several weeks to return to their very best. Pep Guardiola will aim for that slow building process to begin against a Malaga side who have been very, very tough to beat of late, though Barca should have just about enough to pick up maximum points.
Barcelona 2-0 Malaga
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Athletic Bilbao - FC Barcelona
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Athletic Bilbao 1-3 FC Barcelona
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