Will Ousmane Dembele start in El Clasico?

Ernesto Valverde has some big selection decisions to make ahead of El Clasico with Dembele being one of them.

The talented French winger has had a tough first season in Catalonia with injuries delaying his transition into the first-team. However, he has shown glimpses of his ability and why Barcelona opted to play €105 million plus add-ons for him. However, he doesn’t quite fit into the system yet due to tactical deficiencies.

A thigh injury ruled him out of the reverse fixture, but Barca didn’t need him because they came away 3-0 victors. In that match, Valverde opted for a 4-4-2 set-up with Paulinho being the fourth midfielder. This worked wonders because Barca chose their moments to attack through Lionel Messi and ruthlessly exploited them. Real struggled to break down this shape even though they pressed high and controlled large spells of the game especially in the first half.

Zinedine Zidane also used Mateo Kovacic to try and man-mark Messi in this game, which failed miserably. Therefore, he is unlikely to utilise the Croatian in that role again. Dani Carvajal is unavailable as well with Lucas Vazquez and Nacho being the probable replacements. This means there will be significant changes for Los Blancos compared to the fixture in December.

Will Valverde opt for something different?

Dembele starting would weaken Barcelona’s defensive shape due to him being quite raw in that regard. Real Madrid’s left flank is a key area because Marcelo and Toni Kroos like to combine down that side. The Brazilian full-back is a left-back on paper, but acts as a wide playmaker. Therefore, shutting him down is important in order to cut the service to Cristiano Ronaldo and the other forward players.

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Paulinho was used to stifle Real on this flank with great success in the reverse fixture. Dembele wouldn’t be able to fill that role. However, he could exploit the space left by Marcelo in a quick transition. This issue with this is that chasing them openings forces Barcelona’s play to go back to front quickly which has risks attached. It also reduces their control on the game leaving gaps open for Real to exploit. An open game suits Real due to their individual brilliance and counter-attacking prowess.

Therefore, it would be a surprise to see Dembele start the game. However, he could be used as a game-changer near the end when Real start to tire. Their style under Zidane means they leave plenty of openings for the opposition to exploit. This allows them to have a really attacking set-up which is part of the reason why Marcelo is usually so high up the pitch. Dembele would be able to utilise the space the Brazilian full-back leaves empty.