It’s the clash the Saudi outfit have been waiting for… a face-off against the galactic superstars of Europe.
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Kick-off:
Showtime For The Galacticos
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The Blancos, however, managed to get away without any overly harsh reviews of their performance but in this tournament, they will be afforded no such luxury.
In a football festival like the Peace Cup, where results are not always necessarily the most critical thing, this is the perfect avenue for
But Madrid being Madrid, winning is almost as obligatory as the entertainment they are expected to provide and victory will be the only result the fans will accept, especially since both their group games will be played at the Bernabeu.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men will be one of the hot favorites to win this competition, Galacticos or not, and they will be expected to perform even though they’ve only had 90 minutes worth of football under their belts so far this summer and will have to do without several internationals, who are still on their holidays.
Jittery Tigers
Al-Ittihad will no doubt be out to claim the honor of becoming the first team to beat the star-studded Spanish behemoths. But the fact of the matter is, that is precisely what they have to do if they wish to avoid going home early.
The Tigers’ first game against LDU Quito was a massive disappointment, as they were comprehensively beaten 3-1. Gabriel Calderon’s charges looked nervous and far too conservative in the first half against the Ecuadorians and they paid the price for it by going 2-0 down before the break.
The excuse from the Saudi camp was that Calderon had decided to start the match with a slightly weakened team, in order to rest key players for the clash at the Bernabeu. If that is the case, then their fans will be expecting a much improved display, and result, against
And, if Al-Ittihad lacked the motivation and desire against LDU, they should have no such problems against the superstars from the Spanish capital.
TEAM NEWS
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Confederations Cup participants Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol and Kaka will all be absent, as they are only scheduled to return to the squad next week, but this will give the fringe players a chance to prove themselves.
The club’s latest arrival, Esteban Granero is one such player and coach Pellegrini has already hinted that he could debut on Sunday. Centre-back Pepe picked up a knock against Shamrock and he will not be risked.
Probable Starting XI (
Al-Ittihad
Calderon has no major injury concerns and he is expected to line up his strongest possible team from the start.
Probable Starting XI (
PLAYERS TO WATCH
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No prizes if you guess Cristiano Ronaldo. The highest profile player in the team and in the world has a lot to prove after being slightly overshadowed by Karim Benzema against Shamrock Rovers. Anything less than a match-winning performance from CR9 on Sunday and the pressure could be really cranked up on him even before the season begins.
Al-Ittihad
Hicham Aboucherouane is the one of the team’s only foreign players and the Moroccan forward will bring something extra to the table for the Jeddah side. The 28-year-old was the Saudi League’s top scorer last season with 12 goals and Al-Ittihad will be relying on him to trouble the makeshift
PREDICTION
Having only played one warm-up friendly,
Al-Ittihad, whose domestic league campaign gets underway in less than a month, will have the advantage of being in better physical shape. They’ve also gotten the opening fixture jitters out of the way, but are these factors enough to match the quality in the ‘Casa Blanca’ camp? It's doubtful.
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KS Leong, Goal.com
