Probable Lineups
4-3-3
4-3-3
Probable Lineups Statistical Comparison
Goals
Assists
(7)
7.3
Average Ratings
7.3
(7)
39.5
Average Age
39.5
175.7
Average Height (cm)
183.2
(1.1)
1.4
Shots pg
1.7
(1.2)
(50%)
46%
Aerial Duel Success
63%
(57%)
(1.2)
0.9
Dribbles pg
0.7
(0.8)
(1.5)
1.3
Tackles pg
1.7
(1.7)
* Values in brackets (x) are overall player statistics in Primera Division.
Missing Players
Barcelona
Real Madrid
| Player | Reason | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Villa | Out | 6.81 | |
| Andreu Fontàs | Out | 6.55 | |
| Eric Abidal | Out | 7.07 |
| Player | Reason | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricardo Carvalho | Doubtful | 7.01 |
Team News
Barcelona
Real Madrid
- Barcelona suffered the disappointment of a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday, but on the domestic front they have been unstoppable of late, winning their last 11 La Liga matches.
- The Champions League tie, however, may weigh on Pep Guardiola's mind so Gerard Pique could return to give Carles Puyol a rest.
- Pedro may also be given a chance from the start given his recent return to form and his great goalscoring record against Real Madrid; the winger has scored four times against Los Blancos in the past two years.
- Barça have never been beaten by Real under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola in seven league matches and have won all three at the Nou Camp.
- Real will also have to come from behind if they are to reach the Champions League final after losing 2-1 in Munich on Tuesday night.
- Fabio Coentrão started ahead of Marcelo against the Germans, but his mistake for the winning goal may ensure a return for the Brazilian at left-back, even though he has had problems against Barcelona in the past.
- The other question for Jose Mourinho is whether to sacrifice one of his front four for an extra body in midfield. It is a tactic he used repeatedly last season against the European champions and with a draw more than satisfactory for Real given their current four-point advantage, it is one he is likely to use again.
- Should that be the case then Esteban Granero will come in for one of Ángel Di María or Mesut Özil.
- Karim Benzema should also get the nod ahead of Gonzalo Higuain in attack as the Frenchman has scored three times against Barcelona already this season.
seriously?? Messi even in the top 5?? come on... another gifted ballon d´or??
sanchez got a higher rating than CR ... mm..
On the Messi and Ronaldo ratings debate - the objective from a forward's perspective is to score goals and you score goals by taking shots. Passes & dribbles are to get into scoring positions - but not always as Barca found out today. CR took 6 shots, 2 on target and 1 goal. Messi had 1 shot, 0 on target and 0 goals. Surely this set of stats should be given more weight than Messi's better stats in passes, touches and dribbles. Also, Thiago being man of the match here should throw a red flag that the algorithms are not perfect and need to be refined. Yes he had the most touches of the ball and highest passes, perhaps because Madrid identified him (and Busquets) as being the least threatening of the midfield/attackers combo - so they pressed Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, even Tello and Alves a lot more and let Thiago and Busquets have the ball around the half way line. Another statistic I would like to see used is distance covered. That may help with the controlling space stat.
You cant base everything on the passes, i think the algorithm is not penalyzing the bad stuff, for instance turn overs messi had 3 of them more than anyone else on the game. Thiago did a lot of defensive work thats why he has such a high rating, but they lost the game!, he played well but he cant be man of the match just because of that.
Barca did not play 4-3-3! Alves was a right winger, Iniesta a central midfielder, Puyol the right back of the the three, and Busquets dropping in to partner Mascherano at times, but mostly playing a holding role in midfield. Get yer basics roite...
To me the whole point of this site is that the statistical analysis helps to identify things that perhaps aren't obvious when you are watching the game. Thiago did a lot of small things well while Ronaldo did a few important things well. Does that mean Thiago was better/more important to his team? It's important to remember a site like this will emphasize things that are measureable. How well a team passed or tackled is easy to measure but how well a team closed down space between the lines is not. The WhoScored Ratings should be considered as an additional, helpful tool in analysing and looking at the game - not as an objective rating of who was best.
The problem with the ratings is that there's an assumption in the algorithm that both teams want the ball, and the more of the ball you see (passes, touches etc.), the higher the rating. In reality however, teams sometimes choose to control the space instead of the ball, which leads to illogical ratings. The ratings aren't flawed, the system just appreciates the ball more than the space, or quality. That's also why attacking and midfield players have so much better ratings than defensive players- the latter group control the space 90% of the time.
@Thypot Key Pass: the final pass leading to a shot at goal from a teammate. This is from 'Glossary'. You can find it at the bottom of the page. So there is no subjectivity.
Illmatic74: I think so, but it is incredible that dribbles are considered as a more relevant criteria than goals! And "key passes" are a very subjective notion...
Its amazing how one Barca-Madrid match can make fans of a website turn their backs so easily. Is it really a big deal Messi had a higher rating than Cristiano? If you look at the statistics how is it incorrect? Messi had 74 touches with a pass accuracy of 79% to CR7 33 and 65%. He gave the ball away more with less touches. Thats and important statistic. Before the goal, Cristiano's rating was not in the 7s and probably barely a 6. Messi even outdribbled him by 6. Cristiano completed 17 passes while Messi completed 53. Another category he beats him in. A goal can turn a mediocre game into a great one? No. Alexis Sanchez had 11 touches yet 1 was a goal. This is why his rating was higher also. Thiago was man of the match because he completed over 100 passes. Tripling the output of Madrids passer Xabi Alonso. Stop being fan boys and look at this objectively. This based solely on statistics. Who won the game? Madrid. Who had the higher team rating? MADRID. WhoScored got it CORRECT.
can anybody explain the rating algorithmus?
The reason for Messi and Thiago's high rating is that Thiago lead the game in passes completed and had two key passes and Messi completed 8 dribbles and also had 2 key passes.
I prefer this site's algorithm to any subjective rating system. Sure it could use some refinement, but at least it is based on real statistical performance. Perhaps 2/3 should be based on statistical performance and 1/3 on empirical evaluation by a real human being. If you want ratings based on what side of the bed a certain someone woke up on a particular day, go to goal.com.
Ok after going through the statistics available, i kind of understand why the rating are given. Then you should really take notice of the weight of a goal, the wining goal should be giving a higher rating than any other one.
mmm, the rating here seems fishy. Ive always tought that your rating system gave the best player of the game almost every time, THIAGO ALCANTARA???? no way. Cristiano should have a much higher rating, messi didnt give a 7.3 game, but mostly he didnt played better than Cristiano!, are you kidding, hopefully you will fix your rating algorithm here, make sure you prize the goal/opp ratio. That would make Cr7 one of the best rated, also on the last game from chelsea-barcelona i agree petr cech was the best player but drogba should have been up there with him.
Whoscored rating system simply has no legitimacy. I hate to say it, because i love this website. Every commentator Ive heard tonight has said Messi was a disappointment. There is no way Messi has a higher rating that ronaldo.
I agree AlanRikkin... He always has a very positive rating even when he is poor. Tonight, I didn't see him in the second half.
7.4 for messi, 7.1 for Cristiano ronaldo. Goal messi 0 Goal ronaldo 1 PD messi 0 ronaldo 0 Pro-barça spotted.
Messi rating > ronaldo rating? What a joke...
Apparently Messi has a 7 pt rating assured...
outplayed
Critiano Ronaldo *troll face* problem Barca??
wooooow! wtf? rm 1-0 bfc!
Tello and Thiago in start 11
Barca will win 3-1 Real Madrid ! VISCA EL BARCA
Barcelona 2:0 Real Madrid
BARCA!!! WIN!!!
This match may be the most important of them all.