Ok, so I'll narrow it down for you: I don't think it's worth choosing Victor Valdes tonight. So that only leaves you with 21 players to choose from...
Simon G (aka Grunny27) has kindly supplied a multitude of stats to work through so here we go:
1. Barcelona have done the double against Real Madrid in the last two seasons, winning the last four Clásico’s home and away.
2.The Catalans are undefeated in their last 10 league matches, winning nine and drawing one.
3. Real are unbeaten in their last 19 La Liga matches (16-3-0) - their last defeat was a 2-0 loss at home against FC Barcelona on 10 April.
1. 2. & 3. Now I think that this suggests picking more Barca players as they should just have the edge. Plus, my instinct is that Mourinho will try and suck Barca in and hit them on the break. This may well win the game for Real or not but it should mean that the Catalans dominate possession and therefore the Picklive points.
3. Messi has scored at least once in the last nine official matches he played for Barça. Including the Argentina friendly against Brazil, he has now scored in his last 10 official matches.
4. Messi has scored seven goals in eight El Clásico’s in La Liga. Only César Rodríguez (12), Estanislau Basora (8) have scored more goals representing Barça against Real Madrid.
5. Messi has never scored against a side coached by José Mourinho. He played against the Portuguese coach seven times in the Champions League, four against Chelsea and three against Internazionale.
6. Ronaldo has never scored against Barcelona (5 matches).
3. 4. 5. & 6. So this means that Messi will definitely score unless Real stop him.... But Ronaldo definitely won't...
So, based on all that I'll be going for at least 4 Barcalona players and not Ronaldo. That's because if you strip goals & assists out of Real Madrid's last two Picklive performances then Ronaldo would've finished behind Alonso, Marcelo and Ramos both times (plus Carvalho if you ignore a yellow card). What this suggests to me is that Ronaldo is only worth picking if you think he'll score. I would even go further than that as I think Barca will dominate possession and so Ronaldo will need to score two or more as he won't see as much of the ball - particularly if he ends up as a lone striker to replace Higuain.
Xavi is a must pick even if he is a bit of a sub risk. He scored 107 against Villareal and 126 the last time he faced Khedira. I would consider Alves, Iniesta and Busquets next as my gut feeling is that there won't be many goals in this. So, i'll be weighing Messi against each of them (or possibly including him at the expense of any Real players?).
If you fancy a punt I can see Marcelo or Carvalho being kept busy and so may rack up a fair few interceptions and clearances. But my head says stick to what you know, namely the Barcalona midfield.
Good luck!
by Ben and Simon
And a few stats to finish you off:
It will be the first time since 2006/2007, when Rijkaard and Capello were in charge that both managers had a CL title to their name.
This is the third time El Clásico will be played on a Monday. The other Clásico’s on Monday were on 30 March 1964 (Barcelona – Real Madrid 1-2) and 3 April 1972 (Barcelona – Real Madrid 1-0).
Losing El Clásico at home almost always means the end of any title hopes. Only on two out of 32 previous occasions has a team lost a home Clásico and gne on to win La Liga: Barcelona in 1928/1929 and Real Madrid in 1975/1976.
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