Top tier football in Spain will kick-off with Copa del Rey fixtures. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid will be fired up to open the year 2012 with victory over Malaga.
The Merengues can look at the first part of the 2011/12 campaign with satisfaction. Their 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in La Liga stands out as the only major disappointment as the overall analysis looks rather positive.
Real Madrid managed to end 2011 as leaders by 3 points over second-placed Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Division. In the Copa del Rey’s Round of 32, they successfully overcame Ponferradina’s underdog threat with a 7-1 aggregate win. What result will Los Blancos achieve in the Last 16?
Real Madrid are poised to clinch victory in the first leg of this tie. Like they did throughout the past couple of months, Mourinho’s men might go all out to attack and to bang in goals. However, Malaga will take the risk of affronting Real Madrid with positive tactics as coach Manuel Pellegrini told the press during a conference on Monday:
“We will try to go through by keeping our traditional playing style. We will not be defensive or look for a goalless draw.
“If we do not progress I want it to be because Madrid were better, not because we were not good enough. The Copa del Rey is a good goal and my dream is to go as far as possible.”
But Real Madrid’s wish is not “to go as far as possible”. Precisely, the Merengues’ dream is to defend the title which they snatched from former champions Barcelona last season. Cautiously, though, Jose Mourinho has ordered his side to take the Copa del Rey one match at a time.
Real Madrid have a good record against Malaga. They haven’t lost any of their 30 home matches against the Andalusia-based club. The availability of Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain for Tuesday night’s clash should also scare Malaga to death. It must be noted that Ronaldo and Pipita share a total of 18 goals between them against Malaga.
Many facts make Real Madrid favorite to trounce Malaga in the first leg of this Round of 16 game, but the Special One has other opinions. As quoted by Real Madrid’s official website, Jose Mourinho declared on Monday:
“We scored early in our league match in Malaga and had sealed it by half-time, but I don't expect tomorrow's clash to be like that. Tomorrow we'll play a tie's 180-minute first half.”
Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho, Di Maria and Sergio Ramos cannot play. Both players are recovering from injury and have thus been ruled out. Expectedly, Jose Callejon has been included in the roster. The young chap ended 2011 with a fine scoring form and is tipped to progress at Madrid.
Kaka, Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop could also enjoy some playing time against Malaga as Jose Mourinho has vowed to use all his men in January. These three midfielders have been named alongside Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Granero, Lass and Özil. Real Madrid’s full squad list goes as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Casillas, Adan, Meijas
DEFENDERS: Arbeloa, Coentrao, Marcelo, Pepe, Varane, Albiol
MIDFIELDERS: Lass, Khedira, Granero, Sahin, Xabi Alonso, Özil, Callejon, Altintop, Kaka
FORWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuain
Malaga’s full squad list goes as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Caballero, Ruben
DEFENDERS: Jesus Gamez, Demichelis, Mathijsen, Monreal, Eliseu, Sergio Sanchez
MIDFIELDERS: Camacho, Toulalan, Apono, Cazorla, Isco, Duda, Buonanotte
FORWARDS: Van Nistelrooy, Sebastian Fernandez, Rondon, Juanmi
Real Madrid managed to end 2011 as leaders by 3 points over second-placed Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Division. In the Copa del Rey’s Round of 32, they successfully overcame Ponferradina’s underdog threat with a 7-1 aggregate win. What result will Los Blancos achieve in the Last 16?
Real Madrid are poised to clinch victory in the first leg of this tie. Like they did throughout the past couple of months, Mourinho’s men might go all out to attack and to bang in goals. However, Malaga will take the risk of affronting Real Madrid with positive tactics as coach Manuel Pellegrini told the press during a conference on Monday:
“We will try to go through by keeping our traditional playing style. We will not be defensive or look for a goalless draw.
“If we do not progress I want it to be because Madrid were better, not because we were not good enough. The Copa del Rey is a good goal and my dream is to go as far as possible.”
But Real Madrid’s wish is not “to go as far as possible”. Precisely, the Merengues’ dream is to defend the title which they snatched from former champions Barcelona last season. Cautiously, though, Jose Mourinho has ordered his side to take the Copa del Rey one match at a time.
Real Madrid have a good record against Malaga. They haven’t lost any of their 30 home matches against the Andalusia-based club. The availability of Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain for Tuesday night’s clash should also scare Malaga to death. It must be noted that Ronaldo and Pipita share a total of 18 goals between them against Malaga.
Many facts make Real Madrid favorite to trounce Malaga in the first leg of this Round of 16 game, but the Special One has other opinions. As quoted by Real Madrid’s official website, Jose Mourinho declared on Monday:
“We scored early in our league match in Malaga and had sealed it by half-time, but I don't expect tomorrow's clash to be like that. Tomorrow we'll play a tie's 180-minute first half.”
Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho, Di Maria and Sergio Ramos cannot play. Both players are recovering from injury and have thus been ruled out. Expectedly, Jose Callejon has been included in the roster. The young chap ended 2011 with a fine scoring form and is tipped to progress at Madrid.
Kaka, Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop could also enjoy some playing time against Malaga as Jose Mourinho has vowed to use all his men in January. These three midfielders have been named alongside Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Granero, Lass and Özil. Real Madrid’s full squad list goes as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Casillas, Adan, Meijas
DEFENDERS: Arbeloa, Coentrao, Marcelo, Pepe, Varane, Albiol
MIDFIELDERS: Lass, Khedira, Granero, Sahin, Xabi Alonso, Özil, Callejon, Altintop, Kaka
FORWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuain
Malaga’s full squad list goes as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Caballero, Ruben
DEFENDERS: Jesus Gamez, Demichelis, Mathijsen, Monreal, Eliseu, Sergio Sanchez
MIDFIELDERS: Camacho, Toulalan, Apono, Cazorla, Isco, Duda, Buonanotte
FORWARDS: Van Nistelrooy, Sebastian Fernandez, Rondon, Juanmi
