BARCELONA // Doctors could not work out why there has been a 45 per cent upsurge in births this week in Catalonia. It did not take long before someone realised that it was nine months since Barcelona destroyed Real Madrid 6-2 away and Andres Iniesta's last-minute goal confirmed the Catalans' place in the Champions League Final.
Barca may be out of the Copa del Rey - this week's quarter-finals saw Atletico Madrid, Getafe, Sevilla and Racing Santander advance - but their league form remains formidable. Pep Guardiola's side remain unbeaten after 19 games, the halfway point of the Primera Liga season. They are only the fifth team in the history of Spanish football to achieve such a feat, but Barca in addition are the first club never to have been behind in a single game.
There will be some caution that the last team to remain unbeaten at the halfway stage were Real Sociedad in 2002-03, the Basque side surprising everyone but ultimately losing out on the league to Real Madrid. Second-placed Real remain five points behind Barca and five clear of third placed Valencia, who are in turn of five clear of Real Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruna in fourth. Real have a tough game tonight against a Deportivo side who have only lost at home to Barca and their neighbours Espanyol this season. The Galicians were the first to meet Manuel Pellegrini's new look Real team at the start of the season, where they were unlucky to lose 3-2 at the Bernabeu. But Real have not won at the Riazor since the 1991/92 season
"We have to win in La Coruna, it's as simple as that," said Madrid's reserve goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who also claimed that his colleague Iker Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world, which may explain why the former Liverpool goalkeeper seldom starts. Real will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, suspended for two games after his red card last week for elbowing. "The suspension puts Cristiano and us in a complicated situation," added Dudek. "He never tried to hurt the player, it was just an accident and he was unlucky. It will be tough, but I believe we can win without him."
With 14 wins from their 19 league games and just three defeats, Real have enjoyed their second best ever start to the season. Their fans were also cheered this week when it was announced that they had agreed unofficial terms to sign Racing Santander's 18-year-old rising star Sergio Canales. Real did not announce anything, but it is understood that the deal allows him to stay at Racing and continue his progress for the next two seasons before he has the option of moving.
Barcelona also travel to Spain's Atlantic coast tonight where they will meet a Sporting Gijon side, in 10th place, who have been defeated just twice at their always atmospheric El Molinon. Without a midweek game, attention in Barcelona switched this week to the upcoming club elections which will take place between March and June - or whenever current president Joan Laporta's anointed heir has the best chance of winning.
Alfons Godall is a childhood friend of Laporta, who has to stand aside after serving two terms, but he is not favourite to win. That honour goes to Sandro Rossell, Laporta's former right hand man and the person who brought Ronaldinho to the club in 2003. The election promise to be bitter and personal, yet all the candidates claim they do not want to upset the squad. That may not be possible, with Andres Iniesta yesterday declaring: "I'd prefer the elections to take place at the end of the season, so they don't destabilise the team."
sports@thenational.ae Sporting Gijon v Barcelona, 11pm, Deportivo v Real Madrid, 1am, Aljazeera Sport + 3