FC Barcelona will be looking to extend thei lead on top to eight points tonight and put immense pressure on Real Madrid who will be playing Malaga tomorrow. Seydou Keita has returned to the 19 men squad announced by Guardiola - Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Cygrynskiy, Milito, Márquez, Puyol, Piqué, Abidal, Maxwell, Jonathan, Xavi, Iniesta, Keita, Henry, Bojan, Pedro, Messi and Ibrahimovic. Busquets is out with injury and Puyol also may not feature as he has just resumed training. With Busquets out and Toure away at Angola, the defensive midfielder position is a matter of concern for Guardiola. Seydou Keita can feature in that role, but it is not his natural role and that leaves only Marquez for the position. Valladoid is currently lying in 17th position and their form this season should not be a point of concern. They only managed to win three of their games till now but they had drawn eight matches and that could be crucial for Barca. We don't want anything other than three points from this encounter.
FC Barcelona is looking like hitting top form. The last two results - 5-0 against Tenerife and 4-0 against Sevilla are really encouraging. And it is no secret that we started to look like last season team with Iniesta coming back to form. If he, Messi and Xavi continue their great form, this will be a walk in the park for Barca. Guardiola in most probability may rest Puyol for tonight's match. That means we might see Milito and Pique in the centre of defense alongside the full-backs - Abidal and Alves. The midfield should have Marquez, Iniesta and Xavi. The attacking trio should remain unchanged with Henry, Ibrahmovic and Messi. Ibra has been below par in recent matches, so we should expect a much better performance from him tonight. I expect a high scoring amtch with Barca winning this easily by a scorelione 0-5.