Real Madrid vs. Manchester United: Preview

A mouth-watering Champions League clash awaits on Wednesday as Manchester United face the formidable Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Both sides have had differing league campaigns. Manchester United are currently twelve points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after their 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s defence of their La Liga title has not gone to plan however. They are currently in third place; sixteen points behind Barcelona and four points behind a Radamel Falcao inspired Atletico Madrid.

José Mourinho has come under heavy scrutiny for Real Madrid’s poor league campaign. Despite this, the Portuguese is still widely tipped to be Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford. Their head to head record is below:

	Games	Percentage
Mourinho Wins	6	46.2%
Ferguson Wins	2	15.4%
Draws	5	38.4%
Total Games	13

Mourinho has a good record against Ferguson. He recorded wins with FC Porto and Chelsea between 2004 and 2007. Ferguson triumphed the last time the two managers faced each other in March 2009, with a 2-0 victory against Inter Milan at Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s team are favourites for Wednesday’s game. Personnel wise, I believe that both teams are evenly matched. However, Real Madrid are unbeaten at the Bernabéu this season, winning fifteen out of nineteen games in all competitions.

Manchester United have also never won at the Bernabéu; Arsenal and Liverpool in 2006 and 2009 remain the only English teams to have recorded away victories against Los Blancos.

The game has added significance as current Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo faces his former club for the first time. He recently stated that the happiest time of his career was spent at Manchester United. Ferguson is still a huge admirer of Ronaldo, but he has ruled a out a return for the twenty-eight year old; he is simply too expensive.

Manchester United have a slight advantage by playing away in the first leg. But, I believe that they need to score at least two away goals to have a serious chance of progressing in the return leg on March 3rd. With players such as Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the team, this is entirely achievable.

By Kelvin Jones

Follow me on Twitter! @KelvinJonesss

Sources:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/fixtures/_/id/86/real-madrid?cc=5739

http://www.skysports.com/football/league/0,,11826,00.html

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/champions-league/top-goalscorers.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1040469-jose-mourinho-vs-sir-alex-ferguson-scoring-the-battle-so-far/page/7

England and Spain Squads

	England
Squad No.	Position	Name	FIFA 12 Rating	Value/£m	Average Match rating 11/12 season
1	GK	J. Hart	83	18.5	6.86
2	DEF	G. Johnson	80	12.5	6.83
3	DEF	A. Cole	85	15	6.91
4	MID	S. Gerrard	87	18.5	7.00
5	DEF	G. Cahill	79	14	6.54
6	DEF	J. Terry	86	21	6.89
7	MID	T. Walcott	82	15	6.60
8	MID	F. Lampard	87	8.4	7.22
9	ATT	A. Carroll	81	15	6.68
10	ATT	W. Rooney	90	57	7.63
11	MID	A. Young	85	22	7.22
12	DEF	L. Baines	80	16	6.96
13	GK	R. Green	78	4	6.00
14	DEF	P. Jones	76	16	6.99
15	DEF	J. Lescott	80	13	6.73
16	MID	J. Milner	81	17.5	6.80
17	MID	S. Parker	82	12.5	7.03
18	DEF	P. Jagielka	80	10.5	6.72
19	MID	S. Downing	82	14	6.60
20	MID	A. Oxlade-C	69	8.8	6.74
21	ATT	J. Defoe	81	9.7	6.85
22	ATT	D. Welbeck	76	11.5	7.42
23	GK	J. Butland	63	0.2	6.00
		Average	80.6	15.2	6.84

Squad No.	Position	Name	FIFA 12 Rating	Value/£m	Average Match rating 11/12 season
1	GK	I. Casillas	89	31	6.83
2	DEF	R. Albiol	82	7.9	6.6
3	DEF	G. Pique	88	33.5	6.85
4	MID	J. Martinez	74	19.5	6.89
5	DEF	Juanfran	79	7	6.84
6	MID	A. Iniesta	91	57	7.4
7	ATT	Pedro	85	24.5	6.92
8	MID	Xavi	92	31	7.78
9	ATT	F. Torres	86	31	6.87
10	MID	C. Fabregas	88	48.5	7.55
11	ATT	A. Negredo	82	16	6.95
12	GK	V. Valdes	85	17.5	6.49
13	MID	J. Mata	86	30	7.19
14	MID	X. Alonso	86	31	7.36
15	DEF	S. Ramos	85	30	7.16
16	MID	S. Busquets	83	31	7.36
17	DEF	A. Arbeloa	83	10.5	6.87
18	DEF	J. Alba	77	8	6.57
19	ATT	F. Llorente	83	22	6.89
20	MID	S. Cazorla	84	17.5	7.6
21	ATT	D. Silva	87	40.5	7.43
22	ATT	J. Navas	84	17.5	7.35
23	GK	P. Reina	84	16.5	6.42
		Average	84.5	25.2	7.05

That's a table I have made comparing the England and Spain squads for Euro 2012. I think it is fairly self- explanatory. Basically, I have taken the FIFA 12 rating, Value and Average Match rating of each player from both squads, and compared them. The results clearly show that the England Squad is just not of the same caliber as that of Spain. It would seem we have very little chance at Euro 2012 if that is how poorly we compare.

By Patrick Milnes. Follow me on Twitter @thepaddy

The stats in this blog are from fifafantic.com, whoscored.com and transfermarkt.com