Mourinho set for different turf war

Barcelona travels to the capital on Wednesday for the ninth clásico between Pep Guardiola's side and José Mourinho's Real Madrid. On this occasion it is the King's Cup quarterfinal that brings the eternal rivals together in the Bernabéu, with the second leg to be contested next week at Camp Nou. Real won the tournament last season, beating Barça in the final courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo header in extra time, but it proved to be a consolation prize as the Catalan club again conquered La Liga and Europe - eliminating Real in the semifinals of the Champions League for good measure.

In all matches between the sides since Mourinho arrived in Madrid to wrest domestic and continental supremacy from Guardiola's polished trophy machine, Real has only that King's Cup victory to its name, with Barça victorious on four occasions and three ties played out. The rivalry has taken in four competitions in all, the finest in a footballing sense being this year's Spanish Supercup, a pulsating 180 minutes that ended 5-4 in Barça's favor.

Fans will hope the two-leg format and the relative lack of pressure derived from a domestic knockout competition will bring a similar spectacle to the table on this occasion, rather than the largely unpalatable fare served up during April and May's clásicos of last season.

Mourinho, rightly targeting the cup as a realistic chance for first-season silverware, and constrained by the demands of board and fans for the club-obsession 10th European crown, fielded defensive formations with license to remove chunks from Barcelona's players.

Given free rein of Real after a public spat with departed sporting director Jorge Valdano, Mourinho has created a more flexible side, as potent in attack as it is miserly in defense, with the ability to morph into different formations at a moment's notice. The absence of Sami Khedira, Álvaro Arbeloa and, possibly, Pepe - the main source of Barça's ire when Real employs strong-arm tactics - for the first leg further inhibits Mourinho's ability to throw up a wall of white.

Barcelona has previously rarely strayed from its tested 4-3-3 formula. Guardiola has occasionally employed three at the back this season in order to flood the midfield, with Dani Alves moving between lines when Barça is put on the back foot. In the Bernabéu, Barça will simply do what it always does; try to pass its way to victory.

"We don't know how to be speculative," said Xavi. "We want to play attacking soccer, score goals and have dominion of the ball. I'm not giving anything away. It's what we do in every game, and Real is no exception. It's a knockout tie and the more goals we score away from home, the better."

Leo Messi, freshly crowned world player of the year for a third successive time, has scored seven in the last 10 clásicos. "Messi always makes the difference. The Bernabéu seems to be to his liking," noted Xavi.

Cristiano Ronaldo, conversely, seems to shrink against Barcelona and has scored just three over the same number of games. The Portuguese forward's contribution to the 3-1 league defeat at the Bernabéu last month, and a growing sense that he plays more for himself than the team, has led to sections of the Real support booing the forward. That loss, however, was the only blemish on a run of 22 victories in 23 games.

Barça, meanwhile, has been struggling by its own astronomical standards, dropping points at Sevilla, Athletic and Espanyol and suffering defeat at Getafe over the same period.

Real is in the driving seat in the league and played a perfect Champions League group phase. The stars seem aligned for a home victory. But that was the general feeling before the last match between the two.

"You'll have to ask the Madrid players if we have eaten into their morale," said Xavi. "Winning or losing will have a big impact on a team's state of mind. The winner will receive a huge confidence boost."