by Ifreke Inyang

The second of at least El-Clasico matches will be played this evening at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona travel to the capital with a slim 3-2 advantage and Tito Vilanova, will be hoping to start his Barca reign with a trophy, like his predecessor, Guardiola.

However, Vilanova knows it will not be an easy one. For once, everything is not exactly going to plan in Mourinho’s camp. Already one of the most successful coaches in world football at 49, the Portuguese, has just experienced his worst start to a league campaign. Simply put, Mourinho and his men are hurting.

“[It will make them] More dangerous, yes, yes. That’s normal, the same would happen with us,” Vilanova said ahead of the game. “If we had not won in two or three games and we were playing at home, we would try to change the dynamic as quickly as possible.

“But in themselves Madrid are already dangerous with the number of players they have, and in the [Santiago] Bernabeu. It is impossible to think about going to Madrid and having an easy game.

And Mourinho, in his press conference yesterday, sounded in the mood for another silverware, even though he insisted that the tie is delicately poised.

“Everything is open tomorrow [Wednesday],” he told reporters at press conference. “Tomorrow [Wednesday] we will try to defend whenever [Barcelona] have the ball and attack when we have it. We must try to score from the first minute.

“The team does not have to change anything from the way we played at Camp Nou. We had a good game.

“Winning the Supercopa and beating Barcelona is not important to me. My priority is knowing what happened against Getafe [on Sunday] – whether it’s a psychological problem.

When it comes to El-Clasico games these days, every other thing, even psychological problems, count for nothing. It is about blood and sweat on the football pitch. And we will witness another explosive clash between the two Spanish heavyweights, as they go head to head for the first trophy up for grabs this season.
It is a close one to call. Although results have not gone Madrid’s way, this is the El-Clasico. Barca, on the other hand, maintained a perfect start to the season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Getafae and will be aiming to keep the winning run going tonight. Whoever wins tonight, will make an emphatic statement of intent to the other. It might be Madrid’s home ground, but a goal for the Catalans, will change the complexion of this tie completely.