There are very few things in life that you get a second crack at, and a chance to get one over the eternal rival mere weeks after an embarassing 1-3 defeat at home is thankfully one of them. With Barcelona brushing aside Osasuna and Real Madrid huffing and puffing to oust Malaga, in a little less than 3 days, our boys will lock horns once again with those dirty Cules from cheatsville.

If you're like me, you've probably developed thick skin by now. And that means that the scars from the previous encounter have already been covered up. To be honest, this time I don't have any jitters when I think of Barcelona. I don't shudder when I wonder how our snow whites will stop the 7 dwarves. I don't fear what their strike force will do to us, even when we're conceding easy goals to the Malagas and Granadas of the world. I think it's safe to say that us Madridistas have reached a saturation point with Barcelona.

This is something that I hope is NOT the case in the dressing room. I will tear my hair out if they claim that this is 'just another game' or some similar hogwash. It's not just another walk in the park, Jose. Your players are not going to put 4 past Valdes and keep a clean sheet like the average game. 'Just another game' is not how the rival approaches it, and you'd be wrong to tell your players to play that way. How's it worked out so far? We've played'em 8 times so far under Mourinho, and beaten them once. In extra time. When Barcelona came to the Bernabeu in December, the time was ripe to go for the jugular and slip in the dagger. They would've been 9 points off the lead, and down for the count. They had a woeful away record which only boasted of two 0-1 wins, one of which was against Granada. Yet, they came to the capital and played out of their skins, like it was their home ground. The result? Cristiano is in Alves' pocket the whole game, they get lucky breaks that go in, while our star players pull out howler after howler.

Now, destiny has granted Jose with a second wind. The next 2 games will be decisive. Knocking Barcelona out of the cup would mean relishing in the sweet sound of millions of Cule hearts breaking all over the world. What's more, it'll also be a significant psychological blow, because despite beating us in the league, they still have 0 margin for error with a 5 point deficit, and one less cup to play for.

This is one time Mou needs to tell his players that failure will not be okay. Let's not pretend we dont want this. Losing cannot and should not be an option. Those boys need to leave their heart and soul on the pitch to make up for all those 'lucky goals', errors in judgment, and all the other random f*** ups that have cost us clasicos in the past.

Here's a chance to put those Cules on the ropes again. Mou has the chance to make hay because luckily the sun has decided to shine down on him again. If we can get this victory, it's going to be a long and cold winter in Catalonia.

Note by Gaëlle: If you want to hear my dramatic reading of part of this post, then listen to our pre-Clásico podcast!

More about the Clásico: written Q&A, pre-Clásico podcast,  Aaron's selection of hot and not hot players, Karan's views and tactics analysis, ZeusZidane's insights regarding our right back problem and Apakshit's preview.