So, here we go again. Barcelona vs Arsenal. There. Thats's all you need for the headline.
After the thrilling comeback win against Barca a fortnight ago, Arsenal have stuttered and stumbled on the road to Camp Nou for the return leg. We have been mightily inconsistent and we have also lost key players for those games. Barcelona meanwhile have come out on top in close duels in the La Liga. But, for such a big match, form will count for little. It'll be the mental aspect that will count the most come full time.
Both sides have key players missing out through injuries and suspensions, which makes the present scenario strangely similar to last year. For the last year's return leg match, both Puyol and Pique were absent and the duo are definitely missing the action tonight. For us last year, where do I start recalling? We had no Cesc, no van Persie, no Gallas, no Arshavin, no Djourou and no Song (who by the way, is also absent from tonight's match due to injury).
Coming back to the match itself, if we are to have any chance of progressing, we really need to do the following things without fail:
i) Clinical finishing: Barca will once again have more of the possession and we will get very limited number of chances to score. We need to take our chances tonight because we can't really rely on Barca not scoring against us. We also need to capitalize from set pieces properly.
ii) Concentration: Every player has to stay focused for the full ninety minutes. We conceded the goal in he first leg owing to a quick free kick and Clichy losing his concentration to keep Villa onside. We really can't afford such lapse in concentration today. Messi should be given proper attention tonight, while not forgetting others.
iii) Avoid silly mistakes and challenges: We're going to play in front of a full house partisan crowd and the referee will be under huge pressure to give decisions in Barca'a favour. We need to realize this and play smart by not giving away silly free kicks or committing silly fouls. And, if we are somehow leading the aggregate come the 89th minute and a long ball is hoofed towards our box(highly unlikely to be done by Barca, not their style, they'd rather chip it over the defence), the defender nearest to the ball should HACK IT CLEAR INTO THE STANDS!
Team news is that van Persie and Cesc make the starting line up. That's a BOOST as big as they come! Moreover, Rosicky also starts tonight which means Arshavin will be on the bench and be the impact substitute for us. Diaby has started in the midfield holding role (instead of Denilson) in place of the injured Song. Walcott is still recovering from his injury and hence has stayed back at London. For Barca, Busquets has dropped to the centre of the defence and Adriano has slotted in the left back position.
Team line ups:
Tactics:
Final Prediction:
Let's see what pans out shall we?
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
After the thrilling comeback win against Barca a fortnight ago, Arsenal have stuttered and stumbled on the road to Camp Nou for the return leg. We have been mightily inconsistent and we have also lost key players for those games. Barcelona meanwhile have come out on top in close duels in the La Liga. But, for such a big match, form will count for little. It'll be the mental aspect that will count the most come full time.
Both sides have key players missing out through injuries and suspensions, which makes the present scenario strangely similar to last year. For the last year's return leg match, both Puyol and Pique were absent and the duo are definitely missing the action tonight. For us last year, where do I start recalling? We had no Cesc, no van Persie, no Gallas, no Arshavin, no Djourou and no Song (who by the way, is also absent from tonight's match due to injury).
Coming back to the match itself, if we are to have any chance of progressing, we really need to do the following things without fail:
i) Clinical finishing: Barca will once again have more of the possession and we will get very limited number of chances to score. We need to take our chances tonight because we can't really rely on Barca not scoring against us. We also need to capitalize from set pieces properly.
ii) Concentration: Every player has to stay focused for the full ninety minutes. We conceded the goal in he first leg owing to a quick free kick and Clichy losing his concentration to keep Villa onside. We really can't afford such lapse in concentration today. Messi should be given proper attention tonight, while not forgetting others.
iii) Avoid silly mistakes and challenges: We're going to play in front of a full house partisan crowd and the referee will be under huge pressure to give decisions in Barca'a favour. We need to realize this and play smart by not giving away silly free kicks or committing silly fouls. And, if we are somehow leading the aggregate come the 89th minute and a long ball is hoofed towards our box(highly unlikely to be done by Barca, not their style, they'd rather chip it over the defence), the defender nearest to the ball should HACK IT CLEAR INTO THE STANDS!
Team news is that van Persie and Cesc make the starting line up. That's a BOOST as big as they come! Moreover, Rosicky also starts tonight which means Arshavin will be on the bench and be the impact substitute for us. Diaby has started in the midfield holding role (instead of Denilson) in place of the injured Song. Walcott is still recovering from his injury and hence has stayed back at London. For Barca, Busquets has dropped to the centre of the defence and Adriano has slotted in the left back position.
Team line ups:
Barcelona:4-3-3
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Starting line up: Valdes, Alves, Busquets, Abidal, Adriano, Xavi, Mascherano, Iniesta, Pedro, Villa, Messi.
Substitutes: Pinto, Bojan, Keita, Milito, Maxwell, Afellay, Thiago.
Arsenal: 4-2-3-1
Manager: Arsene Wenger
Substitutes: Almunia, Denilson, Squillaci, Arshavin, Eboue, Chamakh, Bendtner. Starting line up: Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Wilshere, Diaby, Rosicky, Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie
Tactics:
Goalkeeping/Defence: Szczesny will be called upon to make some big saves and we need him to be on the top of his game to keep Messi and Co. out. It is another big night for Koscielny and I hope he performs as well as he did in the first leg. The defence needs to be very compact tonight and the defensive line must be religiously maintained at all times.
Midfield: Diaby steps in for Song and hope he merges seamlessly with Wishere and Cesc. I really hope Diaby curbs his habit of holding onto the ball for too long. He should look to pass the ball to a teammate as soon as possible. Hope young Jack reproduces the almost flawless form he displayed in the first leg. Cesc has really been missed in our recent matches and we will need his quality to cut open Barca's defence tonight.
Attack: I dearly hope van Persie has fully recovered and he is fit to be able to run for the full ninety minutes without any discomfort. With him in the side, we have a cutting edge in our attack and I hope he continues his rich vein of goalscoring form tonight. Rosicky has been drafted in to help out Clichy against the marauding Dani Alves and despite mixed performances in recent matches, I hope he comes good today. Samir hasn't scored for a while and it would be absolutely huge if he were to get one tonight. We need to work out the untested centre back pairing of Barca and as I have mentioned earlier, we really need to take our chances.
Subs: I'd bring on Eboue, Arshavin and Bendtner/Denilson/Chamakh.
Final Prediction:
Let's see what pans out shall we?
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
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