Pep Guardiola's side have lost one and drawn two immediately following international fixtures in the last year, while Jose Mourinho's men have won six out of seven such games

ANALYSIS

By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Editor





BARCA AFTER INTL BREAKS IN LAST YEAR







Date Match

Result Points dropped

September 2010

Hercules (h)

Lost 2-0

3 October 2010

Valencia (h)

Won 2-1

0 November 2010

Almeria (a)

Won 8-0

0 February 2011

Sporting (a)

Drew 1-1

2 March 2011

Villarreal (a)

Won 1-0

0 September 2011

R. Sociedad (a)

Drew 2-2

2 October 2011

Racing (h)

Won 3-0

0





MADRID AFTER INTL BREAKS IN LAST YEAR







Date Match

Result Points dropped

September 2010

Osasuna (h)

Won 1-0

0 October 2010

Malaga (a)

Won 4-1

0 November 2010

Athletic (h)

Won 5-1

0 February 2011

Espanyol (a)

Won 1-0

0 March 2011

Sporting (h)

Lost 1-0

3 September 2011

Getafe (h)

Won 4-2

0 October 2011

Betis (h)

Won 4-1

0

They can be an unwanted distraction. International breaks not only deprive coaches of their top players for a period of up to 10 days, but they can also halt momentum, too.The recent stop has seen Barcelona and Real Madrid parted with many of their top Spanish and overseas players for friendly matches, Euro 2012 play-offs and World Cup qualifying fixtures in South America. And coaches Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho will now be faced with difficult decisions ahead of Saturday's Primera Division games as they assess which stars are in condition to start this weekend, and which need a rest.Guardiola, for example, must establish whether Lionel Messi can participate - as he has done from the start in all but one league game this term - from the outset as he is reportedly feeling the effects of the travelling and two tough games with Argentina.Likewise, Mourinho will hope his star man, Cristiano Ronaldo, can shake off a knock picked up in Portugal's play-off success over two legs against Bosnia and Herzegovina.Barca surprisingly lost to promoted side Hercules at home following last season's first pause in the domestic calendar. Messi featured in that game and Javier Mascherano made a disappointing debut in what was a disjointed display from the Catalan club at Camp Nou.Guardiola's side struggled again a month later after another break, but came from behind to overcome Valencia 2-1 at home and trounced Almeria 8-0 away following the next round of international fixtures in Novermber.Two more points were dropped following February's fixtures, even though Spain did not play in that particular break. The 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon was merely a blip, however, and Barca overcame Villarreal in a hard-fought encounter in March after the last international interruption to comfortably cruise to the title for a third season running.This campaign has seen two more points dropped, though, as the Catalans were stunned by a second-half comeback from Real Sociedad after storming into a two-goal lead early on at Anoeta. Messi was left on the bench that day and not even the Argentine's introduction could win it for the Catalans late on.Madrid, meanwhile, have dropped just three points after international breaks since the arrival of Jose Mourinho as coach in the summer of 2010. That occurred in a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Sporting Gijon back in March, a result which halted the Portuguese's remarkable record of not having lost at home in league matches for nine years.Aside from that loss, the balance is positive for Mourinho's Madrid following the fecha Fifa. Six wins out of seven are testament to that, although Real struggled in the first of those, a 1-0 victory over Osasuna, and were not convincing as they overcame Getafe 4-2 in September of this season, either.This weekend, Madrid will look to preserve their three-point lead in what looks a tough fixture at Mestalla against Valencia, while Barca host Zaragoza. And while the recent international matches make these harder to predict, both sides will be hoping the breaks will go their way.

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