الأحد، 22 مارس 2015

FC Barcelona News: 22 March 2015: Barça Name Clasico Squad, Ancelotti Under Pressure



FC Barcelona's squad that has been named to face Real Madrid on Sunday at Camp Nou includes 18 players. Among them is Sergio Busquets, declared fit and ready to go. The complete list: Marc-André ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Gerard Piqué, Ivan Rakitić, Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Pedro Rodríguez, Andrés Iniesta, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Rafinha, Javier Mascherano, Marc Bartra, Jordi Alba, Adriano, Dani Alves and Jérémy Mathieu.


El Clásico is back in town. Football’s premier club spectacle showcasing eternal rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will be staged for the second time this season when the curtain rises at Camp Nou on Sunday night at 9.00pm CET. The crucial battle pits two sides seemingly going in opposite directions and could be pivotal in what is currently a tight race for the league crown. The blancos prevailed 3–1 at the Bernabéu way back in October, providing the blaugranes with added motivation, as if any were needed.


Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is relaxed and confident his team can turn around their recent poor run by winning Sunday evening's Clasico at Barcelona. Asked at his prematch news conference if his relaxed personality was an advantage in such situations, and whether he feared the axe should the team lose on Sunday, the Italian said his patience had a limit eventually -- but he remained relaxed and confident ahead of the game.


The Clasico is a fixture fuelled by much more than just football. Barcelona versus Real Madrid is all about geography, history, nationality and politics - it is Catalunya against Spain. But with Catalan independence now a growing possibility, the match-up could be even more highly charged in the future.


Athletic Bilbao continued to keep the pressure on the teams above them with a deserved 2-1 victory over Almeria at San Mames. Athletic have been the form team in La Liga over the last few weeks and Saturday's win, secured by goals from Xabier Etxeitia and Mikel Rico in the opening half-hour, was their fifth on the trot and saw them move to within five points of Malaga in seventh.


An assist from in-form Alberto Bueno and a headed finish from Gael Kakuta, proved enough for Rayo Vallecano to secure all three points at Vallecas, as Málaga finished with ten men, following the dismissal of Angeleri. Rayo kept pressing for a second goal as the game headed towards the interval, but just lacked precision in their final pass, as Manucho looked to make his impact as the target-man in their attack. Málaga were also looking somewhat shaky at the back, but managed to avoid any further damage until the half-time whistle.


Granada pushed visiting Eibar back into their own half right from the off, as Jhon Córdoba saw a chance blocked by Jaime. The home side kept pushing and by the 17th minute, the nearest they could get to cracking off shots, was a drilled effort from Rubén Pérez, just beyond the post.


Adidas have released a sparkling pair of F50 boots which Gareth Bale will wear during Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Bale goes into the clash on the back of ending a nine-game goal drought against Levante last weekend.





from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1LJ3LUR

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