El Clasico plus La Liga Week 34 Preview

El Clasico may be one of the most over-hyped games in European football but it is unavoidable to regard this as anything but among the biggest in recent years. This one has been building for weeks as Barca have steadily eroded Real Madrid’s 10 point lead at the top of the table winning 11 Liga matches in a row. With the gap now just 4 points, this feels like the title decider with the winner taking the psychological edge with 4 games to play. If Real Madrid lose this - and they haven’t beaten Barca in their last 7 Liga clashes - their lead would be just one point and it could be one of the greatest chokes ever. Of course, with Pep Guardiola effectively condeding the title after their loss to Osasuna, Barca would love nothing more than to reclaim their title this way and inflict on Jose Mourinho one of the greatest of the many humiliations they have dealt him in the last few seasons. It will be a nightmare for Fantasy Football managers as this great game comes heavily ladelled with a good dose of pettiness and spite, bringing out the worst in everyone, causing Cristiano Ronaldo to disappear, and everyone else to get booked or sent off.

Real Madrid have actually beaten Barcelona recently, but that was the Copa Del Rey final last year – the least of their concerns. That is the only time Mourinho has managed to beat the Blaugranas in 10 attempts as Real boss. The last time they won at the Camp Nou in the league was under Berndt Schuster in 2007 thanks to a solitary strike by the Malaga man Julio “The Beast” Baptista. That was the last time Lionel Messi missed a Clasico. Moruniho will be in a bind over whether to go for the win or settle for a draw. A win would all but guarantee the title to Real but the risks of losing are so high that Jose will keep the tactical focus on containment. In January’s Copa del Rey semi-final the Portuguese coach through caution to the wind with an attacking formation that featured both Kaka and Ozil at Camp Nou and they put in one of their best Clasico displays in recent years. Both sides are more or less full strength but Alex Sanchez is a doubt for Barca after picking up a knock against Chelsea. The Chilean was instrumental in the 3-1 victory at the Bernabeau earlier in the season. Mourinho may be tempted to bring in Kaka as the Brazillian did not feature against Bayern on Tuesday.

The eternal debate around Messi vs Ronaldo will once again be reignited with both stars both having 41 record breaking league goals to their name this term. In head to head duels when these two players have met, Messi generally gets the upper hand with the Argentine striker scoring 7 goals to Ronaldo’s 5. The Champions League has taken its toll with both sides’ egos burned in their respective losses in midweek. The results will have been a blow for the two richest sides in the world but Mourniho will be drawing inspiration from his old boys at the Bridge who knuckled down, rode their luck and stole the 1-0 through the opportunistic strike of Dider Drogba. Real will need to borrow some guts and grit from Chelsea to keep Barca at bay. Barca are big favourites with the bookies making them 4/6 but a draw is a tempting punt at 14/5. One thing we can expect is goals with 4 or more scored in the last 5 meetings. And what about a cheeky bet on a red card? Pepe will be fit and raring to go.

In other Liga news, Valencia are clinging on to 3rd place for dear life and welcome Real Betis to the Mestalla on Sunday evening. Valencia have conceded 4 in their last 2 outings while Betis have been in excellent form, unbeaten in 6 with Ruben Castro scoring in 5 of those 6. Unai Emery needs to pull his socks up and give Los Che fans something to cheer about if he wants to still be head honcho next season. Valencia were given a pumelling by Atletico Madrid in midweek and the Turkish boss is running out of chances. Betis look good value at 9/2 for the upset.

Fourth placed Malaga are looking to capitalise on any further mistakes by Valencia but face a difficult visit to 6th place Osasuna. Manuel Pellegrini’s nouveau riche upstarts haven’t beaten the Pamplonans in 5 attempts and have struggled to replicate their excellent home form on the road this season. But Osasuna are also going through a sticky patch with 3 losses in 4 seeing them slip 5 points behind Malaga. This should be a tight, entertaining game with goals flying in at both ends with the key battle being in the middle of the park. A lot depends on whether Raul Garcia is allowed to dictate play for the home side.

Levante visit Sevilla with the battle for Europa Leage places really hotting up. There is just 3 points between 5th placed Levante and 11th placed Getafe. Sevilla are one of those in the running but were thrashed 5-1 by Getafe last week to end an excellent run of results for the Andalusians. Levante have lost 2 in a row putting them 3 points off Malaga. This should be a tight game but we should expect goals with Seville having scored 3 in 4 of their last 6 games. Levante’s Aruna Kone will be desperate to score against the side that let him go last summer. Sevilla have one of the form strike partnerships in La Liga with Negredo (5) and Manu del Moral (5) scoring 10 of their sides last 12 goals.

Athletic Bilbao visit bottom of the table Racing Santander with Racing now looking a condemned side having gone winless since January. They are now 10 points off safety with 5 games to play. Bilbao haven’t lost at El Sardinero in their last 8 visits but will surely be fatigued after their intense Europa League battle with Sporting Lisbon on Thursday night. Atletico Madrid play Espanyol with both teams among 5 Liga sides tied on 45 points. Atletico have been excellent at home this term, especially since Diego Simeone took over in January with Falcao scoring in all but one of their Liga home ties in 2012. Their impressive 4-2 demolition of Valencia on Thursday night may lead Simeone to rest some of his stars with the likes of Salvio, Koke and Pizzi given a run out against the Pericos.

Getafe visit Granada and Real Sociedad play Villarreal with both Granada and the Yellow Submarine hovering 5 points above the drop zone. Two other “Reals” clash. Mallorca play Zaragoza with Zaragoza still dreaming of pulling off the great escape. Luis Aragones’ side are 5 points off safety but have won three of their last 5. With Mallorca now safe with little to play for, another upset is on the cards. Sporting Gijon play Rayo Vallecano with Gijon 8 points off safety and have won their last 4 games against Rayo.

April 20, 2012 at 1:19 pm | La Liga