Even the most seasoned of pundits will tell you not to pay too much attention to a side's pre-season friendly results when formulating a prediction for their season. However, the over-whelming success for Barcelona recently has meant this rule has now kind of become exempt in a city where fans are accustomed to success and with two defeats on the bounce to Manchester United and Chivas, Barcelona boss Pepe Guardiola now faces a balancing act if he wishes his players to be ready for their opening away clash against big spending Malaga on the 21st August. … [Read more...]