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FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid

“If we win the Spanish Super Cup, we will have to play much better” said Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola on Tuesday, when referring to Sunday night’s below-par performance by FC Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid controlled most of the possession and dictated the play in the first half, but Barcelona capitalized on their chances and managed to tie the game 2-2.

Now the 2011 Spanish Super Cup will be decided at Camp Nou between two teams who are desperate to seize the trophy. And both teams have so much to play for.

Barcelona will be boosted by Alexis Sanchez’s sparking performance in the first leg against Real Madrid as well as the addition of Cesc Fabregas to their squad. Whether or not he’ll play Wednesday night is questionable. The former Arsenal midfielder trained with Barcelona on Tuesday and appears to be matchfit.

Guardiola, meanwhile, hasn’t announced his starting line-up for the massive game against Real Madrid.

A key to how both teams will play Wednesday night is the away goals rule. If the second leg is tied after 90 minutes, the winner will be decided using the away goals rule. Barcelona scored two precious goals at Real Madrid’s ground on Sunday night, so they definitely have a significant advantage knowing that Real Madrid will need to either win the game or score three or more goals if the game is tied.

However, Real Madrid knows that a one-nil victory is the minimum that’s needed to win the Spanish Super Cup. Having said that, it’s extremely difficult to stop Barcelona from scoring goals, so a very defensive-minded tactic by Mourinho could backfire especially if Barcelona pulls a goal back to tie it 1-1 late in the game.