Fourteen place separate Barcelona and Real Zaragoza in La Liga table. The two teams face each other at the Camp Nou as the Catalans hope to keep the pressure on Real Madrid.
Barcelona’s players will be turning their attention back on club football, as they look to continue their mission to get back at their best. Their quest for La Liga title this season dropped to a more difficult mode on November 6, after they surprisingly struggled to draw 2-2 with Bilbao.
This marked their fourth draw in the league this season, and the consequences are thus disturbing. This has pushed them three points behind leaders Real Madrid, who seem to be taking things smoothly.
On Saturday though, Barcelona have a chance to occupy the pole position, at least temporarily. Luckily for them, Los Blancos have a tough challenge against Valencia - a club they failed to defeat earlier in their on-going campaign.
For Real Zaragoza though, it is not yet the time to think about the top of the table. Their concern is rather to stay away from the relegation zone, bearing in mind that they are currently in sixteenth position.
Zaragoza have not won a match since October 16, and their statistics do not look too good. They have already lost five games, drawn three, and they sit only a point above the bottom three.
Needless to say, their mission at the Camp Nou will be extremely demanding. But they could escape the threats of Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, who returned to training on Thursday.
While Alexis Sanchez could be rested, injury victims Pedro Rodriguez, Ibrahim Afellay and Adriano are expected to miss the action. Paraguayan defender Paulo Da Silva will also be missing for the visitors, but all in all, Zaragoza boss Javier Aguirre still has hope that his side can survive:
“We must be strong… that is more important than any other analysis. The team has trained well this week and I have great faith in the team.”
This marked their fourth draw in the league this season, and the consequences are thus disturbing. This has pushed them three points behind leaders Real Madrid, who seem to be taking things smoothly.
On Saturday though, Barcelona have a chance to occupy the pole position, at least temporarily. Luckily for them, Los Blancos have a tough challenge against Valencia - a club they failed to defeat earlier in their on-going campaign.
For Real Zaragoza though, it is not yet the time to think about the top of the table. Their concern is rather to stay away from the relegation zone, bearing in mind that they are currently in sixteenth position.
Zaragoza have not won a match since October 16, and their statistics do not look too good. They have already lost five games, drawn three, and they sit only a point above the bottom three.
Needless to say, their mission at the Camp Nou will be extremely demanding. But they could escape the threats of Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, who returned to training on Thursday.
While Alexis Sanchez could be rested, injury victims Pedro Rodriguez, Ibrahim Afellay and Adriano are expected to miss the action. Paraguayan defender Paulo Da Silva will also be missing for the visitors, but all in all, Zaragoza boss Javier Aguirre still has hope that his side can survive:
“We must be strong… that is more important than any other analysis. The team has trained well this week and I have great faith in the team.”
