Primer Classico preview: Isco’s selection key to Ancelotti’s choice of shape against Barcelona

With new men at the helms of both the Superpowers in Spain, La Liga hasn’t seen either of the clubs at their best this season. One might keenly argue that Atletico Madrid are almost there in terms of grit and firepower, but basically the tittle will depend a lot on the league games between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Both of Barca’s last two games have been away draws which Martino’s men have largely dominated but have failed to attack fruitfully. A quick response to that could be Messi’s fitness issues; but apart from the recent draws, Barca’s system this season under Martino’s seems to be much less ‘La Masia’ textbook. Tata has rarely enforced the concept of passing out from the back in tight situations, and the likes of Pique and Valdez have often been seen clearing aimless long balls upfront. Even the pressing under the Argentine coach has not been the same rigorous version under Pep, but rather the Catalonians now are often seen sitting deep against the teams that tend to use long-ball tactics against them.

While Barca might not have started the season in its most fluid self and has definitely not been part of an encounter of the highest quality, but their opponents on the night Real Madrid are nowhere close to their best themselves. Ancelloti’s tenure so far has been rocky due to severe injury woes, goalkeeper selection issues, and most importantly the Italian’s indecisive choice over his formations. Carlo was seen to prefer a 2 man attack at the start of the season, with Ronaldo positioned as the centre forward and Isco slotting in on the left. Though this brought the young Spaniard a lot of limelight for his mature displays, the 4-4-2 rarely gelled well in big games like the Madrid derby and Galatasaray away.

Just like his Chelsea days where Ancelloti shifted between the ‘Christmas tree’ to the 4-4-2, Carlo has now started to try the 4-3-3 shape at Madrid. This has seen Ronaldo return to his left flank role and the Portuguese winger has again started to get more involved in games. More importantly, it is the midfield that creates selection issues in this system, as the only place left for the impressive Isco would be the No.10 as Di Maria has put in a few fantastic shifts in recent weeks. Against a team with a superior midfield like Juventus, Ancelloti shifted to a very flat midfield 3 of Modric, Illarmendi and Khedira, which saw Modric and Illarmendi sit very deep in their half and absolutely no pressing taking place on the opponents’ midfield.

Squad Report

The first Classico of the season does not see either team suffering many injury woes, as Xabi Alonso and Jordi Alba are the only key players missing. Messi’s return to fitness along with club captain Puyol nearing full fitness is a boost for Tata, though Puyol might not be risked for this big a match. For Real, Gareth Bale may have finally worked his way back to full fitness, but the Welshman might not see the starting XI unless Carlo goes for Ronaldo as the main striker from the start. Carvajal’s strong start to the season could see him get a start ahead of Arbeloa, who though has had good outings against Barca in the past, but was unable to cover effectively against Teves and Pogba overloading his flank on Wednesday.

Predicted lineups:

Barcelona: Valdez, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Adriano, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar, Messi, Pedro

Real Madrid: Lopez, Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Illara, Modric, Khedira, Ronaldo, Benzema, Di Maria

One of the key calls for Ancelloti here would be to risk giving Isco a start. If the young Spaniard is brought into the midfield of this team, he would provide a more attacking threat instead of Khedira or Illara. Illaramendi in particular did not have an impressive game against Pirlo on Wednesday, and at times his positioning was quite similar to the one being followed by Modric on the night. Luka Modric was pushed deep into defence at the start of the match against Juventus, and he often positioned himself between Pepe and Ramos to get away from Marchisio and Vidal’s pressing. This made Illara’s position quite unorthodox as he wasn’t able to make an impact off the ball due to the unusually high positions he was taking up.

The other option for Isco would be a role on the left hand side of attack; a job similar to what Kaka nearly perfected against Barca at the San Siro on Tuesday. Kaka was shifted to the left flank by Allegri and had to do a massive job of covering his fullback Kevin Constant against the marauding Alves. The importance of his offbeat role was evident from the Brazilian’s words itself,
“Having played plenty of times against Barcelona I knew the importance of the flanks. Tactically it needed to be a match of sacrifices. I still need to find my best form. The manager knows where I want to play but every now and again you need to make these sacrifices.”

Kaka tackles vs Barcelona

 

Kaka’s take-ons vs Barcelona

And pretty evidently from his stats of ‘Tackles’ and ‘Take-ons’ on the left flank, the Brazilian was able to partially contain his compatriot Alves’ usual rampage on that flank. Though in Isco’s case the left flank role is already his favored one, and his presence in that position will prove a similar style played by Di Maria against Juve on the right.

All three of Benzema, Ronaldo and Di Maria were positioned extraordinarily high on the flanks on Wednesday, and this clearly was a tactic to stifle Juventus’s style of playing out from the back, quite similar to the one seen at Nou Camp. While on the ball, Di Maria was often seen to drift central and find Ronaldo making a run across the pair of Centre backs from the left. This resulted in the first goal, and also led to Marcelo being allowed all the freedom to overlap on Ronaldo’s flank. A similar style could be envisaged with Isco on the left and Ronaldo upfront, though Isco’s presence on the left would also see him drift into a typically No.10 role.

Angel Di Maria passes vs Juventus

 

Angel Di Maria action areas

Barca’s choice of midfield has been quite straightforward till now, with Xavi and Busquets sitting deep in their holding roles. If Ancelotti again goes with his tactic of pressing high upfront, Barca will again have the option of outnumbering the Blancos with Xavi and Busquets making it six Barca players around the three Madrid forwards. Busquets has been seen in a role quite similar to the one Modric has started to follow, though the Spaniards’ interceptions and tackling up the field has improved dramatically under Martino.

Iniesta, despite wide opinions, has been splendid in his No.10 role and has been a constant source of threading balls in for Neymar. This again calls for Modric to sit back deep in his half, and the Croatian to always have a midfield partner in Khedira or Illara to keep track of a certain Argentine’s runs. Though Modric might not have yet developed the defensive marking that Xabi Alonso developed late in the Mourinho era, Modric’s deep positioning alongside a ball-playing player like Ramos will be critical to isolate Messi upfront.

Player to watch out: Luka Modric.
Prediction: Barca 2-2 Real Madrid

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