Frank Rijkaard decided to rest the prolific defensive midfielder, Yaya Toure for the match against Athletico Madrid. Athletico have never been an easy place for Barcelona to travel. Eventhough their chief tormentor of previous years, Torres have left; still Athletico ia a very formidable side. This is where the decision to leave out Yaya Toure from such a crucial encounter might come back to haunt Rijkaard. After Yaya's return from the African nations cup there was a serious change in the way Barcelona played. Like many I also believe it was majorly because of the way Ronaldinho played in recent match. But Yaya's contribution to this sudden surge of form by Barcelona cannot be negated.
Gudjonsen along with ronaldinho comes back to the side. Edmilson is expected to fill in Yaya's boots ; and god forbids if he have a bad game then Forlan and Kun Agüero will take the game away from us. Real Madrid will be travelling to Recretivo and will play the game at the same time. So may be we will have a new leader by the end of the match. Rijkaard may be right in giving his players rest, rotating them; but he should also remember that all the competition are at such crucial juncture that requires you to play the best eleven. Hope Edmilson will have a great game.