Barca to end Camp Nou holidays on a grand note.




Match Preview: Sunday 20/01/2008 21:00 hours (GMT +1), La Liga, Match Day 20

FC BARCELONA ( 2nd/40pts ) - RACING SANTANDER ( 6th/32pts )
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Capacity : 98,772
Referee:


Full Squad:


FC Barcelona (4-3-3):

Valdés, Pinto, Zambrotta, Oleguer, Puyol, Milito, Thuram, Márquez, Sylvinho, Abidal, Deco, Xavi, Iniesta, Gudjohnsen, Giovani, Bojan, Henry and Messi.
Manager: Frank Rijkaard


Racing Santander(4-4-2): Being Awaited

Manager: Marcelino Garcia Toral


Match Preview:


The arrival of Jose Manuel Pinto as well as the return of Lionel Messi all provide vital boosts to the the Barca squad who were rueing the absence of star striker Samuel Eto'o. Oleguer Presas is also back and has been named in the squad. The Catalan giants have a self-inflicted mandate to win all remaining matches and hope that Real Madrid will draw or lose at least three of their matches. This will close the gap between the two, as the Blaugrana aim to recapture their Liga title again this season. Ronaldinho is still out and so is Edmilson. Barca have been on a roll since this year began, winning all matches played except the draw with Sevilla; a draw that was good enough to earn the Blaugrana a ticket to the quarter final stage of the King's Cup. Now, the inspired super stars, who have been roosting at home in Camp Nou over the past one week despite filing out for it's third match within the period, are set to end a great week with a win over visiting Santander.


Racing Santander have been quite impressive after being forced to become more serious with a thrashing by Sevilla in December. They pride themselves in a recent revival, including a victory over Real Mallorca. However, the recent declaration by helmsman, Marcelino that this very game against FC Barcelona is not as important as the mid-week Copa del Rey clash against Athletic Bilbao, calls into question the level of confidence with which Santander are entering this match with. Even though placed in the sixth position in the League, which by their standards is very impressive, the King's cup quarter finalists. Mohammed Smolarek is missing, but frontman Pedro Munitis may provide coach Marcelino some more hope as a likely loss to Barca looms him in the face.


My Prediction:


Despite Marcelino's attempts to under-play Santander's seriousness to encounter, the match will be tougher than FC Barcelona anticipate, especially as the Santander team don't want to enter their cherished Copa del Rey encounter with a negative psychology which a loss brings. However, the Catalan giants are expected to rise to the occassion and break the opponents' resistance within the 90 minute period. I forsee:




FC Barcelona - Racing Santander 2 - 0