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Barca back in full force versus Rayo

Comment: 0 November 29th, 2011 by: admin

DEFENDING champions Barcelona will be back to their fearsome form when they try to rebound from their first loss in the La Liga.

And Rayo Vallecano could bear the brunt of an expected all-out siege from the Catalans who will be in full strength on Tuesday at Camp Nou with the return of midfield dynamos Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.

A left thigh injury caused Iniesta to miss their past two matches while Fabregas was rested when Barca was upset 0-1 by Getafe on Saturday. With the duo around, Barca are back to their formidable roster even as only Ibrahim Afellay remains sidelined.

Their defeat at Getafe was their first in 27 fixtures dating back the last term and it enabled their chief rivals Real Madrid to open up a 6-point gap in the table.

The last time Barca saw the Los Blancos leading them by six points was during the 2007-08 season after which Pep Guardiola became coach and transformed the side into a football power in the Spanish and European fronts with a club record 12 championships.

Despite his team being given the pre-game tag as favourites against Rayo, Guardiola said they need to be focused.

He said their challenge is not to cut Madrid’s lead but to represent Barca and perform the best they could.  ‘We know that Madrid is going to be tough to beat, but we will give it our all until the very last day just like we have since the first.’

The Catalans encountered problems playing away but they are formidable at Camp Nou where they have won six of their seven league matches so far and has outscored their opponents 30-0.

Barca adjusted their schedule in the league to give way to the coming Club World Cup. The rest of the La Liga teams are not playing until the weekend.

Guardiola’s men face Levante next on Saturday and the meet BATE Borisov four days later before taking on Madrid in their first clasico duel this season on Dec. 10.

Although the Spanish media is already hyping about the coming showdown between Barca and Madrid, Guardiola does not want his players to keep their mind off their game against Rayo.

‘My idea of sport is to respect all adversaries,’ said Guardiola.  ‘That is why I said that Getafe was a good team and why I say the same thing about Rayo.’

Rayo were beaten 1-2 by Valencia on Saturday but they remain the top-performing promoted squad this season. They are at 10^th spot and have lost only two of their seven away games.

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