Sport360° view: Real-Barca battle for El Clasico will be won in midfield

Andy West 16:26 23/10/2014
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  • Central to Barca's plans: Ivan Rakitic could well be key to his side's chances of success.

    Although it’s inevitable that superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will play a major role in determining the outcome of Saturday’s hugely anticipated Clasico, another key battleground lies a few yards further back: the midfield.

    In order to create their magic, Ronaldo and Messi (not forgetting Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez, Neymar and Luis Suarez) will need to benefit from clear supply lines. Even those magical forwards can only do so much on their own, and the winning team could well be the one which manages to establish greater control in the centre of the pitch.

    Throughout the last decade and more, the man to give that control to Barca has been Xavi, whose peerless range of passing and ability to control the tempo of a game have been an essential element in his team’s success.

    However, Xavi is not certain to start on Saturday, with new boss Luis Enrique forging a new midfield featuring the more physical skills of Croatian star Ivan Rakitic. Until recently, it was almost certain that Rakitic would be selected ahead of Xavi for this weekend’s Clasico, but the old pass master’s impressive performances in his recent outings may have sown a seed of doubt in his manager’s mind.

    The need for Xavi may be escalated by the absence of Sergio Busquets, who has missed the last two games with a hip injury and now faces a race against time to be fit for the weekend. If Busquets misses out, his place as the defensive midfield ‘pivot’ in front of the back four will be taken by Javier Mascherano, who has performed admirably in that role in the last couple of games after excelling there in the World Cup finals.

    The Argentine is a more than decent understudy, there’s no doubt, but he is a hectic, all-action player who doesn’t offer the same calming influence as Busquets, and Enrique may well feel that a Clasico midfield of Mascherano and Rakitic would be too frantic and fail to provide the necessary domination of possession.

    If Busquets can’t play, don’t be surprised to see Xavi get the nod.

    On the white side of the fence, Toni Kroos has rapidly established himself as an indispensable member of Madrid’s starting line-up since his summer move from Bayern Munich, and Luka Modric is a certainty to start alongside him. But the absence of Gareth Bale could force Ancelotti into changing the identity of the final piece of his three-man midfield jigsaw.

    James Rodriguez would have been the man in that role but he is the most likely a replacement for Bale on the right wing, meaning Isco will probably play alongside Kroos and Modric – although Asier Illarramendi and Sami Khedira are outside contenders for a place.

    Last season, Ancelotti’s decision to start Sergio Ramos in midfield at the Nou Camp proved fatal.

    Don’t expect any similar experiments this time around.

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