El Clásico Preview

It’s time for the biggest match of the year, the one we have all been waiting for. 

Form

Barcelona aren’t in ideal form going in to this match. They have drawn their last two games in the league, and didn’t look convincing in either. They also drew in the midweek Copa del Rey fixture against Hércules, but that was a weakened team. This means they have only won twice in five matches which is poor form for Barça. In contrast, Real Madrid have won their last five matches, and have won nine out of their last ten. Therefore, based on form, Real are clear favorites for this match. However, one point going in Barcelona’s favor is that form often goes out the window in big matches such as this one. There is also home advantage to consider.

Squads

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Some great news going in to the match is that Andrés Iniesta is back. His presence has been sorely missed, and he will be hoping to repeat his performance last season from El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium which Barcelona won 4-0. Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba picked up knocks against Real Sociedad, so there is doubts over whether they can play. However, the importance of the match may give them the extra motivation to recover in time, and they are both back in training. Aside from that, there is no other issues with the first team players who are likely to start.

Real Madrid have a few injuries of their own to contend with. Gareth Bale is out for the match which will be a major blow for them. He has been one of their best players this season due to the goals and creativity he provides. They are also missing Toni Kroos, and Danilo is doubtful to play, but Dani Carvajal was likely to start over him anyway. Los Blancos also have a few players who have just returned from injury such as Pepe and Casemiro. If either of them do start, they may struggle to keep up with the intensity of this match.

History

The history of this fixture is filled with great matches and stunning goals. An article could easily be done on analyzing the recent history, but I have to condense it down to fit into this. In the last five games in all competitions, Real have the advantage with three wins. They also have the advantage in the last ten games with five wins. Focusing just on the league, though, paints a different picture because Barcelona have three wins in the last five games. The Catalans also have five wins in the last ten league games.

The duel between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is another interesting aspect of this derby because of their world-class quality, and their constant competition to be the best player in the world. They have twenty-one and sixteen goals respectively in this fixture which puts them first and third on the all-time list. Both will be hoping to increase their tallies.

Interesting fact: if Barcelona score in the game then they match the record for most amount of El Clásico matches consecutively scored in, which is currently at twenty-two games.

Playing Style

Real Madrid have been playing possession based football, but haven’t exactly sent the pulses racing. However, they always manage to get the result under Zinedine Zidane’s management. They usually play in a fluid formation with it being 4-3-3 when they attack, and 4-4-2 when they defend. Gareth Bale is usually the player who pulls back into the four in midfield when defending due to his ability to track back which he learned when he used to play as a left-back. Lucas Vázquez is likely to start due to his willingness to track back. Zidane has managed the squad well because he has been able to efficiently rotate the squad, so losing Bale to injury might not affect them as much previously thought.

Real will look to contain the M-S-N trio, and control the ball using their midfield with Luka Modrić being key to this. It will be interesting to see whether Casemiro starts because he was effective at cutting up Barça’s attacks when they played each other earlier this year or whether Zidane will trust Isco and Mateo Kovačić.

Barcelona will look to dominate the possession through the defense as well as Sergio Busquets, and then get the ball to the front three as quickly as possible. The battle between Modrić and Busquets will be an important aspect of the match, and the winner of that will likely win the match. Another key match-up is Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergi Roberto. The right-back has made quite a few errors this season, and he can’t afford to do that against the Portuguese superstar.

Goals are common when these two meet due to both teams playing attacking styles of football, and this game shouldn’t be any different. Neither defense has been particularly strong this season either.

Prediction: FC Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid

Predicted Lineup

Alba and Piqué are maybes due to their knocks. Umtiti instead of Mascherano is a possibility, but I think Enrique will go with experience.