The world of football turns its focus to the Spanish top-flight today to catch the clash between two of La Liga’s giants, with the hope of goals, entertainment, and plenty of action. It’s El Clasico Sunday!
This season, Real Madrid and Barcelona have met twice in all competitions. The Merengues won both matches, 2-1 in La Liga and 3-2 in the Supercopa de Espana, respectively.
Here is our match preview ahead of today’s showdown.
Where the teams stand:
Real Madrid-
Ancelotti’s team are targeting a league and Champions League double this season, and the club will face Chelsea in the European Cup quarter-finals, with the first game scheduled for April 6 at Stamford Bridge and the return match scheduled for April 12 at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid have won their previous four La Liga matches, including a 3-0 win against Mallorca on Monday night, with Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema scoring at the Visit Mallorca Estadi.
Along with a 10-point lead over Sevilla, Los Blancos are 15 points ahead of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but Barcelona have a game in hand and will undoubtedly feel they can overtake Sevilla, while Atletico will also be eyeing the slot directly below their capital rivals.
Barcelona-
Barcelona have not beaten Real Madrid in La Liga since March 2019 – they have lost four of their previous five encounters in Spain’s top division – but it is fair to argue they are a different team from the one that lost the reverse fixture at Camp Nou in October.
The Catalans have also won their past four league matches, including a 4-0 victory over Osasuna last weekend, and are undefeated in Spain’s top division since the start of December, with Xavi leading the squad ahead since his November return as head coach.
There is no denying that Blaugrana have endured a difficult season, but collecting the Europa League trophy and securing second place in La Liga would be considered a triumph heading into what is likely to be a hectic summer transfer period.
Key Stats:
With their Spanish Super Cup semifinal victory in January 2022, Real Madrid became the first team in El Clasico history to reach 100 wins across all competitions.
Real Madrid have won their last five games against Barcelona in all competitions.
Barcelona have not lost any of their previous ten away La Liga games (W5 D5), with nine of those coming under Xavi Hernandez.
No side in Europe’s big five leagues have suffered fewer defeats than Real Madrid since the start of last season (6, level with Inter Milan).
Since Xavi’s arrival, Barcelona have taken 34 points from 15 games in La Liga (W10 D4 L1), a record only bettered by Real Madrid during this period (39 points).
Predicted XIs:
Real Madrid- (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Asensio, Vinicius
Barcelona- (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Araujo, Alba; de Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Aubameyang, Torres
