If, as seems highly likely, the Spanish Committee of Sporting Discipline do not suspend Ronaldinho’s one-match ban, Frank Rijkaard will have to choose a team for Saturday’s big game without both Ronnie and Edmilson who picked up his fifth yellow card against Getafe. Iniesta will almost certainly start the game, but will it be in place of Ronaldinho or of his Brazilian team-mate? If Iniesta is moved forward to accompany Eto’o and Messi, then Thiago Motta will probably play in Edmilson’s position. If however, Iniesta starts in midfield, the options for who plays up front are more varied. Perhaps the first choice would be Eidur Gudjohnsen who could play in the middle with Eto’o playing wide on the left. Saviola would be another option, while it remains to be seen whether Giuly will be fit on time. The most exciting possibility would be Giovani dos Santos who scored twice in last Thursday’s Catalonya Cup game against Nàstic; it would be a popular choice with a lot of fans, but it is improbable that Rijkaard will hand a debut to a player who has only just turned 18, in such an important game.

Good news for Gianluca Zambrotta who is fit again and will probably feature in Italy’s Eurocopa qualifying game in Lithuania tomorrow night.