Real Madrid vs. Barcelona [Copa del Rey Semi Final; 30/01/13; 3:00 PM EST] [R]

Si, soy su agente amigo mio.

 

We better come out guns blazing like that 2nd leg of the SuperCup or they'll kill us.

Push up high. Modric for me over Callejon. Can maintain possession better. You need them type of players against Barca.

Our CB partnership looks "weak'ish" no matter which combination we use, so keep the ball up the other end. Easier said than done, they'll feel they can cause us some damage and who can blame them. Loads of injuries won't help.

We must surprise them with a positive forward thinking plan. Do it mr special one.

 

That was a short trolling run with his red card now lol super kikin haha.

jajaja ninos. jajaja.

 

Given the predicted CB pairing, I'm not going to be surprised if we see something a bit like this:
--------------------Adan--------------------
-Arbs------Varane------Albiol---Marcelo-
-------------Essien------Xabi---------------
--------------------Sami---------------------
--Unico-----------------------------Cristiano-
--------------------Benz----------------------

Basically a hybrid 4-2-3-1/triple pivot with Khedira playing in front of Essien and Xabi, but not quite as forward as Mesut normally plays. In a game where we're missing both Angel and our two most athletic defenders, we're going to need to control the midfield, and we're going to need someone like Essien to protect the back line. The positive here is that Sami has been playing incredibly well offensively and he'd get license to roam forward.

Honestly the wildcard to me is Marcelo. We just don't know how match fit he is - if Mou doesn't feel comfortable starting him, then he pretty much has to drop Essien back to RB and put Arbs on the left side, no? But I think Mou might be tempted to make a calculated gamble here - Marcelo's link up play with Ronaldo has been tremendously important for us against Farsa in the past, and his ability to push up the field would help negate the lack of a true AM in the trivote. To me, the entire point of playing a three-man midfield would be to give Sami more license to pressure and attack, and that's why I can't see Mou playing Luka-Xabi-Sami in midfield - I don't think Luka is good enough defensively to play behind Khedira.

I don't think Mou will put Lopez in the position of making his first start against Barcelona. That's asking an awful lot of him IMHO.

 

¡PUTA BARCA, OE OEEEEEE!....

 

I agree. I think the early stages of this match will tell us a lot about where this team is headed. I expect to see an extremely confident bunch out there. The key is to remind Barca very early on that they could easily have lost 7-1 the last time they came into our house.

 

At this point, I don't care who is on the field. I'm going to be screaming all game.

 

I would be happy with a draw...

 

Can you guys name them all?
Answer in 8bit-football.com.

 

Some interesting points in this thread, I will also be in favour of the 3 in midfield.

Modric must start for me, yes he hasn't set the world on fire but games like these I think he will come good.

Ozil always has good games vs Barca.. we finish chances and we will win. Simple. This has been our problem.. create plenty of chances but don't finish them.

Injuries/suspensions will make a difference of course but i'm confident we will get a positive result.

Also hope Arbeloa is fit to start and who to start at LB? Marcelo?

 

Benzema starting? Yikes.

 

Watch at 3:12

 

Lol. So what if we do? It's football; competitive sport, not Swan Ballat

http://www.marca.com/2013/01/29/en/football/barcelona/1359481820.html

 

Won't be able to catch this game, so just want to say, keep calm and Hala Madrid.

All the best guys!

 

Cristiano needs to make damn sure he doesn't pick up a yellow.

 

If we play like we did against Valencia (0-5), things are gonna be easy

 

Worth looking at this ref actually for tonight.. going through the games and Barcelona have yet to lose when he refs.

 

For all the sucky, inconsistent play and petulant behavior on and off the pitch this team/coach has displayed for long stretches this season they've generally responded well in "big" games, I guess at the end of the personal pride is worth more than petty disagreements. I would expect more of the same today and even with the pieces we are missing a favorable result in our pockets heading back to that sh*thole them Cules call a stadium next month is well within our reach. We shall see though....

 

I do love to predict how our team will line up. They're batshit crazy about this in the Barca forum, I've peeked over there before...

----------------------D.Lopez----------------------
Arbs--------Carvs------------Albiol-----------
-----------------------------------------Marcel0--
-----------------------------Xabi-------------------
-----------Khedira------------Luka-------------
-------------------Mesut---------------------------
-----Calleti--------------------Ronnie----------

Swap Benz for Callejon (much more realistic of course) if you wish. I will be happy if we just go out there and play like we did last time around, if so then it will be a tight and enjoyable game. Can't wait!

 

I won't. We should capitalise on the home advantage now that we can, and make them have to score once or twice in the away game and hopefully get some advantage in their need to do so.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Whatever issues the team has inside the locker room will be put aside for a game like this. I think the players know the potential impact this game could have on the remainder of the season and I expect to see an effort worthy of that.

As someone mentioned earlier, I see Marcelo as the major X factor in this game. His play with Ronaldo on the left side brings a dynamic to our attack that gives barca serious trouble. Whether he is fit enough to do that is another question. How confident are all of you that he is ready to start/play a full 90 minutes? If he can't go, we are most likely left with Arbeloa and Essien as our two FBs and I don't like our chances nearly as much.