Osasuna braced for Messi-inspired Barca
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 10, 2009 00:00
MADRID - Osasuna will face one of the toughest tests of its relegation battling season when it welcomes the impressive Barcelona on Sunday. Osasuna will try to stop the Catalans’ attacks fueled by Messi, who is on top form
Barcelona is back to league action on Sunday looking to continue its perfect start to 2009 with a win at bottom side Osasuna after demolishing Atletico Madrid 3-1 in the Spanish Cup in midweek.
A sizeable 31 points separates the two teams but Barca struggled against Osasuna last season, drawing 0-0 away and needing an 85th minute winner to seal a 1-0 victory at Camp Nou. However this season Barcelona looks a completely different team under Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi's form will be giving the Osasuna defense nightmares.
The Argentine scored a hat trick against Atletico and received a standing ovation from the Atletico fans at the Vicente Calderon.
"It was a very special moment for me to be given a standing ovation," explained Messi. "It's something unexplainable and a beautiful experience for any player."
Barca leads second-placed Valencia by 11 points in the standings but Unai Emery's Valencia can close that gap by three points as it is in action against Villarreal on Saturday night.
Villarreal's season is threatening to fall apart with the Yellow Submarine losing its last three league matches against rivals Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The club is still in the Champions League, where it will face Panathinaikos in the last 16, but has fallen down to seventh in the league 15 points behind Barca.
"I do not believe we can start talking about a crisis, because the football is there, and in the last two games we did not deserve to lose," said French midfielder Robert Pires. "However, we cannot afford to drop so many points. After these results there is certainly more pressure."
Villarreal must also do without captain Marcos Senna for the Valencia game due to suspension.
After losing his first league match in charge 2-0 against Barcelona, new coach Juande Ramos has guided Real Madrid to back-to-back 1-0 wins.
Clean sheets were a rarity under former manager Bernd Schuster, whose last two matches ended in 3-1 and 4-3 defeats, and Dutch international Arjen Robben is happy to grind out the wins.
"It does not matter if you win 1-0 or 3-0, it's still three points. They do not give you more points for scoring more goals," said Robben. "It was important against Villarreal that we did not concede any goals again. The defense did an excellent job and they kept a cool head."
A sizeable 31 points separates the two teams but Barca struggled against Osasuna last season, drawing 0-0 away and needing an 85th minute winner to seal a 1-0 victory at Camp Nou. However this season Barcelona looks a completely different team under Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi's form will be giving the Osasuna defense nightmares.
The Argentine scored a hat trick against Atletico and received a standing ovation from the Atletico fans at the Vicente Calderon.
"It was a very special moment for me to be given a standing ovation," explained Messi. "It's something unexplainable and a beautiful experience for any player."
Barca leads second-placed Valencia by 11 points in the standings but Unai Emery's Valencia can close that gap by three points as it is in action against Villarreal on Saturday night.
Villarreal's season is threatening to fall apart with the Yellow Submarine losing its last three league matches against rivals Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The club is still in the Champions League, where it will face Panathinaikos in the last 16, but has fallen down to seventh in the league 15 points behind Barca.
"I do not believe we can start talking about a crisis, because the football is there, and in the last two games we did not deserve to lose," said French midfielder Robert Pires. "However, we cannot afford to drop so many points. After these results there is certainly more pressure."
Villarreal must also do without captain Marcos Senna for the Valencia game due to suspension.
After losing his first league match in charge 2-0 against Barcelona, new coach Juande Ramos has guided Real Madrid to back-to-back 1-0 wins.
Clean sheets were a rarity under former manager Bernd Schuster, whose last two matches ended in 3-1 and 4-3 defeats, and Dutch international Arjen Robben is happy to grind out the wins.
"It does not matter if you win 1-0 or 3-0, it's still three points. They do not give you more points for scoring more goals," said Robben. "It was important against Villarreal that we did not concede any goals again. The defense did an excellent job and they kept a cool head."