Barcelona has chance to bury Real Madrid

Soccer Betting Lines

12/12/2008 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona's 20-match unbeaten streak ended on Wednesday - the club's "B Team" was responsible for the 3-2 Champions League loss to Shakhtar Donetsk - but the Camp Nou club will be back at full strength Saturday with a shot to bury rival Real Madrid.

Barca has been the most dominant team in the world for months, crushing almost every opponent to cruise to a first-place finish in its group in the Champions League and open a six-point lead in La Liga.

Barcelona already had first place in the group secured and used reserves in the loss to Shakhtar Donetsk. But its last league win, 4-0 over Valencia, was just the latest in a string of dominating results.

Real Madrid has struggled, slipping nine points back - it could fall 12 behind with a loss this weekend - and fired Bernd Schuster earlier this week after he said the club couldn't win at Barcelona this week.

Juande Ramos replaced Schuster and led Real to an easy victory in the Champions League on Wednesday over Zenit St. Petersburg, 3-0.

Last season, Real Madrid hammered Barca 4-1 late in the season to essentially seal its second straight league title. With Barcelona in top form right now, it could be payback time.

"We have the chance, we are on good form. We want the fans to see a good game and to show them that 4-1 loss is now behind us," Barca's Rafa Marquez said. "But we have to stay humble and perhaps that's how we can get a positive result out of this.

"There is no need to watch that game again, but it's something we have on our minds."

Payback isn't the only thing on Marquez's mind, though. The most important part is to just get the win, and put Real so far behind it will struggle to catch up to the leaders.

"The team is very aware of how important it is to win at all costs, whether it's 1-0 or by a bigger score, we're just worried about getting the three points," Marquez said. "We are focused on our job.

"A win would give us an important lead over Madrid and a good cushion to work with."

Real Madrid lost its last league match under Schuster, falling 4-3 to Sevilla. With four losses through 14 weeks, the defending champions are just three away from their total losses from last season.

Madrid's Arjen Robben admitted the team is still getting used to Ramos, but the first glance was promising.

"We still don't know the coach too well. We first have to play in Barcelona; we'll start knowing each other better after the weekend," said Robben, who will miss this weekend's clash.

Ramos knows Real wants to return to top form as soon as possible, but it could take a little while for everything to come together.

"I noticed my men were anxious to completely change the situation they are in. They worked hard and showed me they want to change as fast possible. They will do whatever it takes," Ramos said.

Even Marquez knows the importance of this weekend's match, and realizes a loss could be the spark to turn Real's season around.

"Playing the clasico is more motivating than anything," Marquez said, "and the change of manager will be a breath of fresh air."

"We will fight hard to take the three points at stake," Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain said.

"We know we are in better form, but these games are unpredictable; you never know what's going to happen," Barcelona's Xavi said.

Also Saturday, third-place Valencia will try to rebound from its loss to Barca when it hosts Espanyol.

On Sunday, Sevilla hosts Villarreal in a clash of top-four clubs, Atletico Madrid hosts Real Betis, Valladolid hosts Deportivo, Recreativo hosts Osasuna, Getafe hosts Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao hosts Sporting Gijon, Almeria hosts Racing and Malaga hosts Numancia.