FC Barcelona 5-0 Mallorca (Matchday 10 La Liga 2011/2012)

Lionel Messi answered his critics with a superbly taken hat-trick inside the opening half-hour at Camp Nou as the Barcelona thrashed Mallorca 5-0 in La Liga.

The Argentine striker had gone three matches without scoring, evoking criticism for his recent performances but Barcelona’s No. 10 responded in emphatic fashion.

Messi’s first came courteous of a penalty which he thumped home into his top right corner leaving the ‘keeper no chance, and the Argentine turned in his second of the night just six minutes later.

Goal number 199 followed when Dani Alves’ inch perfect cross was turned home on the half-volley.

Isaac Cuenca added a fourth with his first senior goal and stunning Dani Alves strike late on helped lift Barcelona to the top of la Liga ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Sociedad.

Barca dominated the early possession but it was Mallorca who came closest to taking the lead when Joao Victor burst onto a low cross only to divert his shot wide of the target.

And Mallorca were left ruing that miss when they found themselves a goal down not long afterwards when Emilio Nsue handled inside the penalty area giving Messi the chance to end his goal draught. The Argentine steadied himself before converting the spot-kick in emphatic fashion rifling the ball into the top corner of the net.

Youngster Cuenca then tormented Pedro Bigas before sending a devilish cross to the far post which Adriano volleyed, somewhat fortunately, into the path of Messi, who tapped home from close range to double Barcelona's lead 21 minutes in.

Lionel Messi had completed his hat-trick inside 30 minutes with a beautifully taken half-volley after Dani Alves swung a cross into the Argentine's path and he struck the ball perfectly with his left foot to move his Barcelona record to 199 goals in all competitions.

Barcelona started the second-half in similar fashion and had their fourth of the night when Isaac Cuenca rounded Aouate before hammering in his first-ever senior goal following Adriano’s intricately placed through ball.

There was still time for Dani Alves to add a fifth goal when he attempted an audacious shot from distance which dipped viciously below the crossbar to ensure a five-star performance from Guardiola’s men.

Mallorca failed to pressurise the Barcelona defence as the game sauntered to an end with Joaquin Caparros turning his attention to the match against Sevilla next week in pursuit of his first win as Mallorca’s coach.

Guardiola’s side will now shift their focus to the Champions League as they face a difficult trip to Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night.

FC Barcelona 5-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (1st Leg Quarter Finals UEFA Champions League 2010/2011)

FC Barcelona have one foot in the semi-finals, with Real Madrid CF their likely opponents, after soaring to a wonderful 5-1 victory over FC Shakhtar Donetsk that left the visitors ruing a hatful of first-half misses.

Everyone danced to Lionel Messi's beat but the goals carried the signatures of Andrés Iniesta, Daniel Alves, Gerard Piqué, Seydou Keita and Xavi Hernández. Nevertheless, Mircea Lucescu will know the opportunities his side wasted, plus Yaroslav Rakitskiy's second-half goal, meant that until Xavi wrapped things up four minutes from time the tie remained tantalising.

The quarter-final first leg was absorbing from the off. The Ukrainian titleholders were already beginning to move the ball with slick menace when Messi flew off on a trademark dribble. Amid the trail of distruction he left, Iniesta seized possession and finished right-footed past Andriy Pyatov.

There were just two minutes on the clock yet Lucescu's side play with the quick-passing verve of the Spanish champions and reacted with such ferocity that they might have scored three before Barça increased their advantage. Four minutes after Iniesta's breakthrough, Willian cut in from the left and despite the improbable angle forced a brilliant save from Víctor Valdés.

Luiz Adriano then had two one-on-one chances against the overworked home goalkeeper, coming second best on both occasions, before Valdés raced out to clear brilliantly from the Brazilian striker as Alves horribly misplaced a pass. His excellence earned him a bit of luck, too, with Willian volleying just wide of Valdés' vacated goal.

Messi in particular hauled Barcelona back into the game, tirelessly dragging Shakhtar's markers this way and that until Iniesta had time and space to clip a pass which intersected Alves' perfectly timed sprint beyond the offside trap. He controlled on the run and prodded past Pyatov.

The danger, for Barcelona, was that the Pitmen played with blistering pace up front and, missing Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal, Sergio Busquets was tested to the limit at sweeper. However, the hosts emerged after the restart back at full tilt. Messi and David Villa had attempts on goal before Piqué, taking advantage of a well-worked Xavi corner, drove home his second goal in as many games eight minutes in.

His effort took a deflection off Rakitskiy but there was redemption for the Shakhtar defender when he directed in Darijo Srna's free-kick on the hour. Following immediately after the booking of Iniesta, which means he misses the second leg, there was a momentary hush at the Camp Nou. But only a moment. Within 60 seconds Messi's run and glided pass allowed Keita thrash into the top corner to the rapture of the home crowd.

Still Shakhtar responded, Luiz Adriano smashing a shot off Valdés' right-hand post, with the ball bouncing back to the keeper. Messi had a goal ruled offside before Xavi rounded things off, in the process all but ending the slender ambitions of the visitors.

FC Barcelona 2-1 Getafe (Matchday 29 La Liga 2010/2011)

Barcelona claimed a slender 2-1 win over Getafe in a typically dominant display of possession and penetration. A 25 yard screamer from Dani Alves set the hosts on their way in the first half as Bojan added a second but Manu del Moral made his opponent's grind out the win in the end.

The Catalans wasted no time carving up the Getafe defence as Xavi was busy assuming his normal role as the conductor of this harmonised orchestra. Only eight minutes in, his clipped ball was chested down by the irrepressible Messi but his bicycle kick was volleyed straight at Jordi Codina in the away side's goal.

Less than 10 minutes later, Dani Alves broke the deadlock in style. A corner was half cleared by Cata Diaz and Alves thundered home a viciously swerving half-volley into the back of the net to send the Camp Nou faithful wild.

Some mesmeric runs by Messi and Iniesta should've produced more goals but a killer instinct was visibly lacking from the hosts. Javier Arizmendi was the only positive for Getafe as his intricate dribbling gave Adriano some bother down the right flank. Twice in the space of seconds, though, Iniesta and Bojan came close to doubling Barca's lead but both contrived to miss their opportunities, the latter placing his shot inches over the bar.

The onslaught continued throughout with David Villa's penetrative runs giving Michel's men the greatest cause for concern as chances galore were being created. Los Azulones would have been very grateful to go in at the break only a solitary goal down as Pep's men stamped their authority immediately after the restart.

Barcelona took the iniative to attack straight into the second half as they passed relentlessly, probing and looking for an opening. Messi only took five minutes to conjure up a chance for Bojan and the 20 year-old duly took the opportunity via a wicked deflection to put the game out of reach for the visitors. By now, it was a case of damage limitation for Getafe as they waited to be picked apart by the Catalans.

The teasing passing game of Barca had Michel's team beleaguered at the best of times but in the 70th minute, the deficit was nearly halved while the hosts momentarily took their foot off the pedal. Manu managed to head wide off the target and the gilt-edged chance evaporated in an instant.

However, the striker would get another chance but it proved too late. Mosquera's cross was clinically converted with the inside of the Manu's foot precisely into Valdes' far top corner. Barca eventually closed out the finals minutes of the game but broke some sweat towards the end.

The win streches Barcelona's lead in the Primera Division title race to eight points until Real Madrid kick-off later tonight. Getafe remain in 11th place on 34 points despite their endeavours.

FC Barcelona 5-0 Sevilla (Matchday 9 La Liga 2010/2011)

Barcelona completely dominated the first-half taking full advantage of their superiority bagging two goals. Lionel Messi was simply sublime for the home team and made an invincible tag team with partner David Villa.

Messi gave his side the lead before the game had even got going, tucking home the rebound from Pedro's cross.

The little Argentine wizard who was playing in the middle of a front three, caused havoc for his markers dropping deep to orchestrate from midfield and with Sevilla unaware who was meant to pick him up, the forward showed player after player a clean set of heels.

David Villa capitalised on his team-mate's gliding gracefulness on the field, receiving a pass from Messi and firing a wonderous shot into the top corner to make it two.

Abdoulay Konko was sent off for a second yellow card before half-time and there was no way back for los Nervionenses.

A gift of a goal for Dani Alves, a fine solo effort from Lionel Messi and David Villa late on sealed a comfortable three points for the Catalan giants.

Within one minute of the game Barcelona were twice close to taking the lead. David Villa and Messi linking up fluently down the right and the later chipped a dangerous ball in, which was cleared. Barcelona worked it back inside to Xavi but the midfielder clipped his shot agonisingly wide.

Great defending denied Barcelona once more just three minutes later but Sevilla couldn't clear their lines and paid the ultimate price. Herrera Javi Varas blocked the first chance but Lionel Messi made no mistake with the rebound, biding his time before applying the finish.

Sevilla were slow to get going but almost had a goal of their own in the opening ten minutes. Luis Fabiano was quick to find space in behind the Blaugrana defenders but slashed his shot wide of Victor Valdes' right post.

Messi and Villa were combining to deadly effect, the little Argentine in fine form releasing the Spanish striker between the two centre backs but the defenders were able to recover and force Villa wide of goal. Villa did finally test Javi Varas from a slightly tight angle after being found by a classy backheel, but his shot was tame.

Sevilla got their second chance of the game, Diego Perotti showing a frightful turn of pace on the right wing then picking out Diego Capel at the far post, but the left winger fired his volley into the body of Valdes and Xavi removed the danger.

David Villa doubled Barcelona's lead in the 24th minute with a outstanding finish. It was again Messi that ghosted past Romaric into space and played the ball wide to Villa, the No. 7 cut inside one defender and from a similar angle to his earlier effort, arrowed a swerving shot up and round the keeper.

Pedro continued to look dangerous down the left for the hosts and it was his speed and trickery which almost made the third goal for Xavi but Capel got tight to the midfielder to deny him.

As the game reached stoppage time, Sevilla were given a huge blow. Pedro flicking the ball round Abdoulay Konko, who had finally had enough, and the right-back kicked out at the winger with a lazy tackle. It was his second yellow of the night and an early bath for the French born defender.

The extra man advantage allowed Dani Alves to roam forward from right-back in the second-half after being very shrewd in his defensive work. The Brazilian getting his shot away after linking up with David Villa but it was straight at the keeper.

The defender however was gifted a goal minutes after his first chance. A terrible header from Romaric left his keeper in no man's land and Dani Alves latched on to the back pass to steer it past Javi Varas. The former Sevilla player graciously refused to celebrate with his team-mates.

With an hour gone, Pep Guardiola was able to rotate and rest some of his players, introducing Javier Mascherano and Bojan.

Barcelona were in no mood to hold back against their visitors. Messi picked up the ball just inside the Sevilla half and run to the edge of the area before placing a left footed shot low into the corner; it was a goal worthy of his performance.

Mascherano recovered his own mistake well with just over ten minutes left. The substitute gave the ball away in the middle of the park and then chased back 40 yards to block Alvaro Negredo's shot.

David Villa came a matter of inches from getting his second of the night. Messi played a neat ball through, Villa rounded the keeper but went too wide allowing defenders time to retreat and clear off the line.

With the last kick of the game, Villa did get his second. Messi again played his part feeding in Sergio Busquets. The holding midfielder squared it for Villa who picked his corner from the edge of the box to finish the night at 5-0.

The victory moves Barcelona back to within one point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid and went some way to closing the gap in the two sides' goal difference. Sevilla remain in sixth place, still in touch of Valencia, after los Che's slip up against Real Zaragoza.

FC Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos (Matchday 1 Group Stage UEFA Champions League 2010/2011)

David Villa celebrates with Lionel Messi after putting Barcelona ahead against Panathinaikos

Match statistics

Barcelona		Panathinaikos
5	Goals scored	1
12	Attempts on target	1
8	Attempts wide	0
0	Yellow cards	1
0	Red cards	0
9	Fouls committed	17
4	Corners	0
3	Offside	2
48' 47''	Possession (time)	17' 5''
74	Possession (%)	26

Barcelona put their weekend humiliation at the hands of Hercules behind them with two-goal Lionel Messi inspiring a 5-1 Champions League rout of Panathinaikos on Tuesday in their Group D opener.

Barcelona fell behind to a Sidney Govou goal on 20 minutes but responded with three goals in 24 minutes with Argentine Messi scoring twice, in the 21st and 45th minutes, and Spanish star David Villa netting his first Champions League goal for Barcelona.

Pedro Rodriguez and Brazilian Dani Alves scored late goals to complete the rout while Messi came agonisingly close to a hat-trick missing a penalty and hitting both posts in the second half.

It was a big win from the 2009 champions as they gave the perfect reply to Saturday's painful 2-0 league defeat to promoted Hercules at Camp Nou.

The double from Messi means he has 27 Champions League goals and is the club's all-time leading scorer in the competition at the age of 23.

"We couldn't win on Saturday (against Hercules) and knew we had to win tonight," said Pedro.

"This victory gives us a lot of confidence and now we have a difficult match at Atletico Madrid who are a tough team especially at home."

Barcelona's next Champions League match is a trip to Russia to face Rubin Kazan on September 29, but the league is now the priority and a tricky trip to league leaders Atletico Madrid awaits on Sunday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola made five changes to the team that crashed to the Hercules with Spanish World Cup winning quartet Xavi, Sergi Busquets, Pedro and Carles Puyol coming in.

Barcelona started on the front foot and had two good chances in the first five minutes.

Messi saw a header saved in the second minute and then set up the next move sliding a brilliant pass to Andres Iniesta who laid the ball off for Xavi metres from goal.

Xavi seemed certain to score but his shot with the outside of his right foot was too close to goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas who parried well.

The Greek visitors were hanging on but somehow conjured up a goal with their first attack of the match on 20 minutes.

A neat back heel flick from Djibril Cisse released fellow Frenchman Govou who fired past Victor Valdes to stun the home fans who feared another home defeat.

However, Messi allayed those worries 60 seconds later with a smart equaliser as Panathinaikos went to sleep.

Xavi floated a pass behind the Greeks and the unmarked Messi calmly stroked into the corner.

Villa, a 40 million euro capture from Valencia, then put Barca in front on 33 minutes with Busquets flicking on Xavi's corner and Villa was on hand to smash home his first European goal for Barcelona.

Messi hit the crossbar a minute before the interval and then scored a fantastic goal on the stroke of half-time.

On the run the Argentine played a one-two with Xavi then another one-two with Pedro before curling a shot into the corner to wow the home fans.

Messi was brought down in the box 10 minutes into the second half and picked himself up to take the spot-kick.

The Argentine sensed a hat-trick but his tame penalty was saved by Tzorvas.

Panathinaikos introduced Barcelona old boy Luis Garcia, who came through the youth system before a big move to Liverpool in 2004, in the final 20 minutes but there was no chance of a comeback.

On 77 minutes Messi hit both posts with a clever shot from an acute angle and the ball came out to Pedro for an easy tap-in.

Alves scored the fifth in stoppage time with a header to cap off a fine night for the hosts.

Alves Out For Three Weeks

Barcelona will have to do without the services of Daniel Alves for three weeks, after he aggravated his injury in the warm-up before the match against Getafe.

According to Marca, Alves was due to start the game, but suffered further pain during the pre-match warm up. He has been suffering from a fibrilar break in the right leg.

Alves will miss league games against Atletico Madrid and Racing Santander, as well as the Champions League clash against Stuttgart.

Dani Alves Returns To Training

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves trained this Friday along with his team-mates after spending much of the past week doing individual work to recover from a muscle injury. As such, Sport reports, the Brazilian could be at coach Pep Guardiola's disposal to take on Getafe at the Camp Nou on Saturday after missing last week's match at Sporting de Gijon.

Left-back Eric Abidal also trained for some minutes alongside the rest of the squad before finalising his individual regimen to recover from his own knock suffered in last week's match.

Guardiola also continued to count on youth player Albert Dalmau, a possibility in the first team to cover for Carles Puyol, who will be out of action this weekend having to serve out a a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Alves And Messi Delighted With Deportivo Win

The Blaugrana duo want to keep on winning

Barcelona continued their dominance of La Liga with a 3-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna, and two of their stars enjoyed the night.

Speaking to Sport after the match, Messi said, "All the teams know us, and it gets harder to win games."

"We barely have time to rest, but our objective is always to win, starting with Dinamo Kiev."

Meanwhile, Daniel Alves paid tribute to Messi, saying, "That is why he won the Ballon d'Or, to give us goals and wins."

"We played with a lot of force and patience.

"We must continue in this vein."

Ibra: "It’s easy to play with players like these"

Ibra: "It’s easy to play with players like these"

www.fcbarcelona.cat

The Swedish striker is enjoying his football with Barça. Once again he praised the quality of his team-mates and once again he came on in the second half to score.

Three days ago it was the turn of Real Madrid to suffer the magic of Ibracadabra; on Wednesday evening it was Jerez. The Swedish striker scored a beautiful goal in injury time but told reporters after the match: “The important thing is to score. If it’s a nice goal that’s even better””. The victory gives Barça a five-point lead over Real Madrid but as, Ibrahimovic warned: “The lead is important but it’s still too early”.

Here are some of the players’ reactions after the Jerez game:

Touré

"The three points are the main thing".

"It was a difficult match because the opponents defended well and Barça players are not used to playing on such a bad pitch”.

"In the second half the manager told us we had to take them on one-to-one to try and score”.

"People say things about me but I’m not looking for controversy. Three weeks ago I said I have a future here. I like playing for Barça and winning titles is the most important thing”.

Bojan

"Playing such tense matches so soon one after the other could affect us”.

"The important thing was to leave here with a win".

"It’s true that it was important for me to feature and be in the starting line-up”.

"I’m carrying on working and training in the hope of doing things well”.

Messi

”The important thing is the three points”.

"It was difficult because the pitch was very bad”.

Alves

"It was a difficult match after the exertion of the Real Madrid match".

"This victory is very important. We had to work hard. In the first half we were weak and the condition of the pitch was poor, but we had to win and we did”.

"We played a more direct style than usual but we lost possession a lot trying to take risks. I’m happy with the three points”.

"I always try and help the team in all phases of the game. The important thing is the team so that we all win. Last year’s success was based on collective effort and we have to continue that way”.

"We’re not tired. We’re in the hands of some phenomenal people who get us fit. The team is in good shape”.

El Clasico Preview: Barcelona - Real Madrid

Barca Back In The Groove

Whether you come from Addis Ababa or Zaragoza, you know just how much this one means. This is the big one. Two historic clubs, blood rivals - in the literal sense of the word - lock horns in a 90-minute battle that has roots that run as deep as the ideological rift of the Spanish Civil War.

While Real Madrid have been sailing smoothly, but not spectacularly, in the few weeks leading up to this clash, Barcelona have had to contend with a topsy-turvy run-in due to the injuries to their two big guns, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahiimovic, as well as claims from their critics that they are struggling to replicate last season’s dominance.

The have, however, only dropped points at Osasuna, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao in what has otherwise been a perfect defence of their Primera Liga crown. And while Madrid are narrow leaders in this year’s title race, Barca are still the team to beat with a perfect home record in the league after five games at the Camp Nou.

The difference between Madrid and Barcelona became evident on Tuesday night against Inter: the champions’ undeniable ability to produce not just wins but impressive performances without their star player and joint-leading scorers, Messi and Ibrahimovic was there for all to witness and admire.

They demolished the best team in Italy midweek without the deadly duo and if you compare that to how Madrid fared against a lacklustre Milan last month, Barca’s quality appears to be on a different level entirely.

It’s not that they necessarily have a better squad than Los Merengues but the players that come in when the big names are absent possess the same fierce hunger, collective spirit and ultimately the same flawless understanding of the Barca philosophy that softens the blow of such notable absences and allows them to play the same game. Perhaps they don’t have the delectable cherry on top but the cake and the icing still taste as good as it looks.

Madrid may lead La Liga with Cristiano Ronaldo back in action but Barcelona have shown that even without their stars the can still produce the results with far greater flair than Madrid’s recent hat-trick of successive 1-0 wins.

Manuel Labour For Madrid

For the Neo-Galacticos, El Clasico is the long-awaited examination. Unable to compete with an insuperable Barcelona last season in the title race or over the two La Liga encounters, Los Blancos stole the summer headlines from Barca’s triplete-winning season as newly elected club president Florentino Perez spent a whopping €254 million in signing consecutive Ballon d’Or winners Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, along with a host of other world class stars in Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa, Esteban Granero and new coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Florentino Perez’s new superstar-ship troopers have, at times, shown their promised potential, exhibiting the kind of football that has made the Bernabeu gasp with glee. However, these moments of magic have been short-lived and infrequent and for the better part of 90-minute spells, Madrid have languished in the enigmatic realm of mediocrity.

At times, Los Blancos have even been dreadfully poor, as evidenced by their humiliatingly historic elimination from the Copa del Rey by Segunda B side Alcorcon and their dip in form has curiously corresponded with an ankle injury to Cristiano Ronaldo that kept the Portuguese winger out of action for over a month.

Now, as Madrid prepare to face their first big test of the season in the well-oiled machine that is Barcelona, they do so with many questions yet unanswered: Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered from injury, but can he recover the red-hot form he enjoyed before being sidelined?

After a grey outing in their midweek Champions League match against FC Zurich, can Madrid put together the attractive football that allows them to compete with Barcelona or will they be thoroughly dominated by the Blaugrana as they were last season (and as Barca toyed with Inter in their midweek match)?

Can Madrid make the Liga pendulum swing away from Catalunya and effectively shift the balance of power back to the Spanish capital?

In the press conference after the match against Zurich, Manuel Pellegrini admitted that he and the coaching staff are worried about Madrid’s play and their lack of a brand of football. Will three days of training be enough for Pellegrini to correct the glaring weaknesses in his team’s play?

Having claimed the lead in La Liga, can Madrid open up a four-point gulf against their eternal enemies by handing Barcelona their first Liga defeat of the season?

On Sunday, these and many more questions will be answered, but the exciting quality of El Clasico is that they could be answered within the first minute of play or in the final seconds of stoppage time. One would be wise to prepare the antacid and the defibrillator for this one; drama knows no stage like El Clasico.

FORM GUIDE

Barcelona

Nov 24 Barcelona 2-0 Inter (UEFA Champions League)

Nov 21 Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Barcelona (La Liga)

Nov 10 Barcelona 5-0 Cultural Leonesa (Copa del Rey)

Nov 7 Barcelona 4-2 Mallorca (La Liga)

Nov 4 Rubin Kazan 0-0 Barcelona (UEFA Champions League)

Real Madrid

Nov 25 Real Madrid 1-0 FC Zurich (Champions League)

Nov 21 Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander (La Liga)

Nov 10 Real Madrid 1-0 Alcorcon (Copa del Rey)

Nov 7 Atletico de Madrid 2-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Nov 3 AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)

TEAM NEWS

Barcelona

The big news is that Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have shaken off their respective muscular problems and began normal work-out with the rest of the squad, but there’s still no word from the Joan Gamper training ground whether they are fit to start the game, although coach, Guardiola has become well-known for keeping his first XI cards close to his chest.

Dani Alves gave his team-mates a scare when he missed out on Thursday’s session after sustaining an ankle knock against Inter in midweek but he has resumed normal training in Friday’s morning schedule. Yaya Toure is also back having shrugged off his H1N1 viral infection, but he is unlikely to start with Xavi, Busquets and Keita set to pull the strings from midfield again after a dominant midweek Champions League display.

Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Valdes – Dani Alves, Puyol (c), Pique, Abidal – Xavi, Keita, Busquets – Messi, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta

Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo had his first minutes back on the pitch on Wednesday against FC Zurich and while there has been no reports of recurring problems with respect to his ankle injury, it is believed that he still feels discomfort and is still well short of match fitness. It is also suspected that Pellegrini will relegate both Gonzalo Higuain and Raul to the bench, opting instead for Benzema and Ronaldo up front with Kaka in a slightly withdrawn attacking role behind the strikers.

In defence, Alvaro Arbeloa will likely be used at left-back and be charged with the nightmarish task of marking Messi - assuming the Argentine wizard is fit to play. Sergio Ramos makes his return at right-back after serving out his red card suspension last week against Racing. Raul Albiol, however, is a doubt after suffering a minor knee injury in midweek Champions League aciton and the stage seems set for Ezequiel Garay to pair with Pepe to complete the back line.

Probable Starting XI (4-3-1-2): Casillas (c) – Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Garay, Arbeloa – Lass, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo – Kaka – Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Barcelona

In this game all eyes will be on the Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo firecracker, but the man that makes it all happen for Leo and his Barcelona team-mates is influential playmaker Xavi. The midfield mastermind showed the world that the Blaugrana did not miss ‘El Mesias’, or Ibrahimovic, at all in midweek against Inter as he single-handedly tore the Italians apart and his performance will be crucial if the champions are to secure a victory. Messi may not be fully fit come kick-off and in the past, it has become evident that he turns into a mere shadow of himself when he’s suffering from fatigue and lack of sharpness, but take your eyes off him for a second and he will punish you.

Real Madrid

With two consecutive Ballon d’Or winners in the squad, it will be difficult to recommend anyone else on which to fixate one’s attention. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka showcase some of the best football on offer and it will be extraordinarily entertaining to watch how these two exceptional players are able to squeeze through the closing spaces of Barca’s quickly-tightening defensive noose. Watch for both players to try to touch the ball past the last man in defence in an effort to outrace the defender and create a one-on-one opportunity against Victor Valdes. CR9 has boasted that he will score in this match as well so expect him to try his luck from long range and from set pieces.

I Hope Cristiano Ronaldo Plays For Real Madrid Against Barcelona - Dani Alves

The Brazilian wants both teams to be at full strength. He also believes los Blancos will arrive in Catalunya with a burning desire for revenge

Dani Alves hopes that Cristiano Ronaldo is able to play for Real Madrid against Barcelona to ensure that el Clasico is played by the best players on both teams.

The Portuguese has vowed to play through the pain barrier in order to experience his first taste of one of the world's biggest derbies, and for the Blaugrana defender that is good news.

"I want him to be there in Camp Nou on Sunday because in huge games like this all the best players should play," AS quoted him as saying.

"We will decide the Clasico with our domination."

Alves believes that the Madrid players who were at the club last term will still be hurt by the incredible 6-2 win that Barcelona achieved in the Santiago Bernabeu.

"If I played for Real Madrid I would be coming to Camp Nou with a great desire for revenge after that result, but I think they will also come and show respect," he continued.

"With games like the one we played against Inter, we have shown how great Barca can be.

"We were also able to show that we are not the least bit fearful of games like the one on Tuesday, despite the important players who did not play."