In seven home league matches this season, it won only three times and endured an embarrassing 2-1 loss to promoted Alaves in the third round.
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Lionel Messi and Neymar wasted fine opportunities to extend Barca’s lead and the misses proved costly when Sergio Ramos headed home a 90th-minute equaliser.
And there’s the rub.
The Blaugrana, who have had an inconsistent season by their standards, go into the league match trailing Los Blancos by six points on the log, and will be hoping they can close the deficit a little.
“On Saturday we have more to play for than Madrid, they can lose, we can’t”, said Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. “Ramos always comes up with something”.
“We have to highlight the spirit shown by this team yet again, the way we worked together and the belief we showed until the end to clinch this important point”.
“We need to prepare the game well – that’s what I am interested in doing”. We study our rivals, we know how we can hurt them, but there’s no weaknesses, they’re a very strong side.
“The first year of Luis Enrique [in charge of Barcelona], in 2014-15, we were in a similar situation”.
The introduction of Andres Iniesta gave Barcelona a measure of control, and Neymar should have put them two up but fired over. Andre Gomes started for Iniesta. “If my grandmother had wheels she would not be my grandmother she would be a motorcycle”, he said after the game.
Iniesta went on for Ivan Rakitic in the 60th for his first action since injuring a ligament in his right knee at Valencia on October 22.
As usual defense is critical, especially against a powerhouse like Real Madrid.
Zidane’s men have been great so far, and he would be boosted in today’s encounter by the fact that he is Real Madrid manager with the highest rate of wins in La Liga history so far.
“No one hides that is has a worldwide impact, it is seen by millions of people across the world, like the World Cup final”.
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“It is vital that we remain leaders and we do not let up, we must continue in the same way we have until now”.
