Former Real Madrid player Christian Karambeau believes Neymar's absence won’t be an issue for manager Luis Enrique who bids farewell to the club at the end of the season
French former football player Christian Karembeu. File Pic/AFP
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Real Madrid hosts fierce rivals Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight in a highly anticipated El Clasico that will decide the destiny of the La Liga title. Barcelona will miss the services of Brazilian striker Neymar after he was shown a red card in their 2-0 defeat at Malaga and earned a two-match ban for sarcastically applauding an assistant referee on his way down the tunnel.
The Catalan giants have always been over dependent on the Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar (MSN) strike force. However, former Real Madrid player Christian Karambeau believes Neymar's absence won't be an issue for manager Luis Enrique who bids farewell to the club at the end of the season.
"Neymar is an asset value, but when Messi was injured, Neymar was shinning, so maybe without Neymar, Messi will shine. Barcelona must have already prepared for this game without Neymar. It's good for Madrid, but you never know Barcelona have many talented players," Karambeau, a brand ambassador of La Liga, who is in the city to host the El Classico show on Sony Six tonight, told mid-day.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Pics/AFP
The French international, who played for Real Madrid from 1997 to 2000 and won two Champions League titles with the Spanish club, added the encounter will be a battle between the two managers, Zinedine Zidane and Enrique.
"These two great and talented footballers. They have played in the Classico and they know what it is to be out there. They were not friendly when they were playing together. Zizou will try to win the title this Sunday. It will be very intense for Enrique as well. If Real Madrid want to win the title, we will see in the first 15 minutes," he explained.
Neymar with a teammate during a training session in Barcelona on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Karambeau, who has never tasted an El Clasico win during his tenure at the Galacticos camp, believes Zidane's game changers will be from the bench. "Zizou has done that lately. Players from the bench have come and scored. They have done that against Bayern Munich. The first goal will be very crucial for both teams," he said.
Asked about his predictions and the Madrid fan in Karambeau just popped up. "2-1 Madrid," he guffawed.
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