Channels will add here before cick-off
Think back to a week ago today and I tipped Real Madrid to win a tightly contested Copa Del Rey final, Madrid were victorious although it did take a spectacular goal in Extra Time by their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Jose Mourhino has his sights set on knocking out Barcelona out of the competition and with his tactical knowhow and ability to set up a team its hard to bet against the Portugese maestro. With a team comprised of such brilliant attacking players in Higuain, Kaka,Ronaldo,Ozil, De Maria, Alonso Mourhino still manages to set up his team to be very difficult to beat, this tactic relys on Kehdira in midfield and Carvalho and Pepe at the back. In the last two encounters between the teams Mourhino and his team have been able to limit the amount of possession Lionel Messi has and its been a tactic that has worked. Barcelona have only scored one goal in the two games.
Barcelona have a team of superstars and play some terrific passing football, everything is on the deck and the put together some of the most beautiful goals and have a great work ethic to boot. With Xavi, Iniesta and Messi they have a midfield diamond the envy of most managers in world football with their opponents possibly being the exception. The two teams are pretty much evenly matched across the board with the two best players in the world in Messi and Ronaldo in direct opposition. The difference I feel lies with the managers and while Mourhino is a tactical genius capable of changing almost any tie on its head I feel that Guardiola is more a manager who was in the right place at the right time to take over this superb Barcelona team. Pep has yet to prove that he can change things when a tide turns against his side and last years Champions League exit at the hands of Inter Milan(then coached by Mourhino) and the loss in the Copa Del Rey to Mourhino's Madrid is cause for worry for the Catalan giants.
This is a very evenly matched game and trying to pick out some value in the market is difficult. The unders looks a decent bet as the last two meetings have gone under but with that amount of attacking talent on both sides its hard to feel confident about that bet. Its hard to pick a winner here although I do think Real Madrid and Mourhino will find a way. But the play I'm going with here is the halftime result to be a draw at just above even money.
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