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Magical20 · 25-11-2006, 04:49 PM

FC Barcelona will focus on cementing their place at the top of the table this Saturday when they meet Villarreal only days after picking up a crucial victory in the Champions League in Sofia.

The game in Bulgaria on Wednesday was tough both mentally and physically due to the high stakes, but now the team can turn their thoughts to the league tonight (20:00, Barça TV). If Barcelona can produce another display of domineering football that has become their trademark in Camp Nou then they should defeat a team that has a decent recent history against the Blaugrana. The match also represents that last appearance at home before the crucial Champions League encounter with Werder Bremen on December 5.

The injury factor: Upto 11 players are set to miss the game in Camp Nou as both teams have several injury worries. Barça's attacking problems are well-documented, but on Friday both Thiago Motta and Rafa Márquez were ruled out, leaving Carles Puyol and Lilian Thuram in the defence, with Edmílson in front of them. In midfield, Deco, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi are expected to play. One piece of good news on the injury front is that Juliano Belletti has been declared fit, after being sidelined since the Copa del Rey meeting with Badalona.

Villarreal lost Nihat in midweek as the Turkish international was ruled out for the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate knee ligaments and he could be replaced in the side by José Mari. Juan Román Riquelme is in Argentina, with the permission of the club, to attend the birth of his third child, leaving Cani as one of the only creative midfielders available to coach Manolo Pellegrini.

Key replacements: Despite the absence of Samuel Eto'o, Leo Messi and Javier Saviola, Barça have continued to score goals. The four fit forwards in the squad, Ronaldinho, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ludovic Giuly and Santi Ezquerro, have all shine since being called upon to play regularly due to the injury list. The team maintained their excellent record of scoring three or more goals when winning, during the 4-1 triumph in Mallorca last weekend. The midfielders are also chipping in as Iniesta scored both in the Ono Stadium and in Sofia against Levski and Deco netted against Chelsea in the Champions League.

Reference point: Villarreal have one main player upon which rests their goalscoring hopes in Diego Forlán. On Saturday he should be partnered up front by José Mari, but the Uruguayan striker will still be relied upon to be on the end of crosses, corners, free-kicks and to take penalties, should he be required. Due to the absentees, Pellegrini has called up forward Jonathan Pereiro from the youth ranks again after the youngster made his first team debut earlier in the season.

Previous meetings: Barça have met Villarreal in Camp Nou on only seven occasions. The home side have won three times, there have been two draws and the Yellow Submarine have two victories to their name. The most common scoreline, which has happened just twice, is 1-0 and that was the margin by which Barcelona triumphed last season on April 14.

(fcbarcelona.com)

25-11-2006, 04:49 PM	#29 (permalink)
Magical20 Banned Favourite Team: Fc Barcelona Magical20 is Offline Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Somewhere supporting the: "KEEP SAVIOLA" foundation...1639 Km From The Nou Posts: 2,719 vCash: 500 Rep: Rep Points: 406 Country:	Cementing First Place (25 Nov 2006) FC Barcelona will focus on cementing their place at the top of the table this Saturday when they meet Villarreal only days after picking up a crucial victory in the Champions League in Sofia. The game in Bulgaria on Wednesday was tough both mentally and physically due to the high stakes, but now the team can turn their thoughts to the league tonight (20:00, Barça TV). If Barcelona can produce another display of domineering football that has become their trademark in Camp Nou then they should defeat a team that has a decent recent history against the Blaugrana. The match also represents that last appearance at home before the crucial Champions League encounter with Werder Bremen on December 5. The injury factor: Upto 11 players are set to miss the game in Camp Nou as both teams have several injury worries. Barça's attacking problems are well-documented, but on Friday both Thiago Motta and Rafa Márquez were ruled out, leaving Carles Puyol and Lilian Thuram in the defence, with Edmílson in front of them. In midfield, Deco, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi are expected to play. One piece of good news on the injury front is that Juliano Belletti has been declared fit, after being sidelined since the Copa del Rey meeting with Badalona. Villarreal lost Nihat in midweek as the Turkish international was ruled out for the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate knee ligaments and he could be replaced in the side by José Mari. Juan Román Riquelme is in Argentina, with the permission of the club, to attend the birth of his third child, leaving Cani as one of the only creative midfielders available to coach Manolo Pellegrini. Key replacements: Despite the absence of Samuel Eto'o, Leo Messi and Javier Saviola, Barça have continued to score goals. The four fit forwards in the squad, Ronaldinho, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ludovic Giuly and Santi Ezquerro, have all shine since being called upon to play regularly due to the injury list. The team maintained their excellent record of scoring three or more goals when winning, during the 4-1 triumph in Mallorca last weekend. The midfielders are also chipping in as Iniesta scored both in the Ono Stadium and in Sofia against Levski and Deco netted against Chelsea in the Champions League. Reference point: Villarreal have one main player upon which rests their goalscoring hopes in Diego Forlán. On Saturday he should be partnered up front by José Mari, but the Uruguayan striker will still be relied upon to be on the end of crosses, corners, free-kicks and to take penalties, should he be required. Due to the absentees, Pellegrini has called up forward Jonathan Pereiro from the youth ranks again after the youngster made his first team debut earlier in the season. Previous meetings: Barça have met Villarreal in Camp Nou on only seven occasions. The home side have won three times, there have been two draws and the Yellow Submarine have two victories to their name. The most common scoreline, which has happened just twice, is 1-0 and that was the margin by which Barcelona triumphed last season on April 14. (fcbarcelona.com)