if messi shows up you wont win, there's no argument to be had, end of.

It's just an opinion and one that many others seem to share.

But they would do well to remember that Barcelona don't face teams as resilient as United too often. Madrid showed that they are far from invincible- and United are stronger defensively than Madrid whilst possessing similar power and pace up front to trouble Barcelona's defence. The game could go any way.

We all know that if Barcelona play their way and are allowed to control the game, they will win but can you see SAF letting that happen easily?

jimmy26,

What gives you the right to say Barca wont win?

Ok linekar is an ex barca player for a start so probably have a bit of bias.

Secondly he is entitled to his opinion.

Oh and jimmy26, if Lineker is right, will you then be posting an article titled:

Gary Lineker is a genius.

strange title for an article tbh. of course he's entitled to his opinion the Barca will win as am i to mine.

i don't think your midfield can cope with Barca's movement, Busquets sits deep to protect Pique and Puyol, Abidal and particularly Alves push the opposition full backs right back to their own box which then opens up the midfield area for Xavi and Iniesta to control.
Messi drops in to make it a 3, Pedro and Villa float around pulling Centre backs out and when the space is available either Messi, Pedro or Villa get in behind to score.

it's quite a simple philosophy really but just takes the best players in the world to pull it off

the stats say over the 10 meetings we have won 3 barca have won 3 and drawn 4

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This is a pathetic stat as this ranges over years.

We're talking about this Barca team which is far superior than Uniteds.

It will certainly be a very tough assignment.Whilst I also believe that United is stronger in defence than the Real Madrid side that beat Barca in the Copa Del Rey this season,I am sure that Barca can put any defence under pressure.Cohesiveness in midfield is key..we have to function as a unit with clear roles in place in terms of marking and so forth to ensure that Xavi and Iniesta don't get the space that they usually are afforded by other teams.I believe that the key battle will be in midfield so if we can win there then it will be a fairly even contest.Evra does track forward a lot as does Rafael ( if he plays) so both sides are similiar in this respect i.e.attacking fullbacks.I am actually quite concerned with Sergio Busquets..he's quite a dirty player and seems to go to ground for the most minimal amount of contact..he tends to con referees into awarding Barca a lot of free kicks and this could really frustrate our players and disrupt our flow of play.We will need to watch him carefully and take care not to fall into his trap.It should be a very intriguing battle indeed.

Regardless of who we all think will win, its hardly the evidence of someone knowing "nowt" by predicting Barca (or either team for that matter) to win, is it?

Chicken on a Basketball..strange image that..do explain?

thatguy,

What's a strange image, my user name?

Its just a mickey take of my own team's club crest (Spurs). Its meant to be a cockerel on a football but looks more like a chicken on a basketball - thats all.

The cockerel's not a proportionate size to the football, that's why

..ah but of course . I pictured an actual chicken on a basketball..now thats actually quite wierd.Spurs had an interesting season by the way, I would have loved for you lot to have been in the Champions League again next season but unfortunately City have bought thier way in there somehow.Its a shame really because I felt that Spurs added a lot of colour and excitement to the Champions League this season...Well done mate!

thatguy

There's a thousand excuses doing the rounds why Spurs didnt retain 4th but the main reason has to be the fact teams like West Ham, Wigan & Blackpool all took 4pts from us.

It is a shame, it was nice whilst it lasted. Do i think its the end of our Champions League journey? i do hope not. Here's hoping we push for it again next season & you never know in football, so fingers crossed.

I'm sure that Spurs will make a real fist of it next season..I suppose if the likes of Arsenal or Chelsea have a wobbly season, then you guys could sneak in to the top 4 again.The Chelsea squad is getting on a bit and if they really bottle the appointment of their next manager then they could perhaps fall out of contention but you never really know.How do you feel about the Europa League?Are you also of the same opinion as Defoe about it being a bit of a waste of time?

What gives gary lineker the right to say Barca will beat us on Saturday?

.............................

Wild stab in the dark here, but I am going with Freedom of Speech.

thatguy,

I have said all season that i would like to avoid the Europa League like the plague. Its nice having the bragging rights over Liverpool & i guess it at least shows consistency by finishing top 5 again but i will not enjoy, not so much the Thursday night footy, but the Sunday 3 O'clock games is the bad bit for me.

Then again, who's to say we'll even get through the group stages, so we could be out of it before we know it & then everything will be simple - just the domestic trophies to worry about.

Although City have finished 3rd this time around, if Tevez leaves, i'm not sure they will be able to replicate the season they've just had. I'm not suggesting they'll be the ones who'll drop out of the Top 4, but i think they're more likely to than Arsenal or Chelsea.

For me though, it would be brilliant if we could push Arsenal out of it - that would really put the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of bragging rights.

Lineker has every right to express his opinion - just as Hansen did when he said "You'll never win anything with kids".

Subsbench,

Do you still think Lineker "knows nowt" or was he 100% accurate?