However, moments of Messilliance apart we have been treated to some fairly non-football matches, in comparison for example to Arsenal v Man Utd last Sunday. No, I don't think the Premier League is better than La Liga, but the two big boys have let us down is so many ways over the last few weeks.After last week's bout it's round 4 this evening and noone in Barcelona, neither in Madrid I imagine, can see any outcome but the return of the Silver Surfer (see photo) and fellow superheroes to the Champions Final on the 28th May.
FCB are without Boyan, Milito, Maxwell, Pinto and Adriano tonight, but welcome back Andres Iniesta and a speedily-recovered Abidal. Whereas Real Madrid are without Gago, Khedira, Pepe and Sergio Ramos. They will be especially vunerable without the the two defenders, given that the last time they visited the Camp Nou they lost 5-0 in what was widely seen as the best "el Clasico" performance in recent memory. The insurers of the Barça's players' legs will be happy though.
I am not in a position to go into the ins and outs of the media war between the two clubs. Indeed, I find myself slightly bemused by all the media outrage when the antics of various players have helped pay for this Summer's holidays. Suffice to say that it's not only the keepers who have failed to come out of this series of matches with a clean sheet.
Prediction: More than a feeling that there will be more football played this evening than in the previous 3 matches combined and the final score will be FCB 3-1 The Men in White
