El Clasico: Crucial ploys for Barcelona to beat Real Madrid

Barcelona host the most awaited fixture of the season, El Clasico, on Wednesday, both sides locking horns at the top of the La Liga table on 35 points.

Millions of fans will join the world for 90 minutes of a thrilling El Clasico with Barcelona and Real Madrid facing their biggest test of the season so far after their respective draws against formidable opponents.

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Two of the biggest clubs in the entire world with the best players the sports has to offer will go head-on in the most viewed football game of all time.

Both the Spanish giants have struggled through the first half of this season due to injuries. Barca, in particular, have been weaker on the defense having conceded 20 goals so far in the League, which is the highest between the current top 5 teams. While Ter Stegen has managed to save the back four on numerous occasions, the team have struggled to find a consistent back four that could be reliable on any given day. Offensively, however, Blaugrana’s front trio of Antoine Greizmann, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have finally displayed moments of unity while the midfield trio, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Ivan Rakitic have started to dominate their respective roles. Despite their recent struggle against Real Sociedad, Barca have looked strong in their victories against Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Mallorca and will look to find that dominant performance against Los Blancos on Wednesday.

Here are the crucial tactics Barcelona need to apply to win at the Nou Camp,

Strong Defence: Stopping Karim Benzema and Co.

Karim Benzema has recently rediscovered his incredible form with 12 goals and 5 assist to his name this season. Zinedine Zidane relies on the Frenchman to score goals as he remains the top performer for the club. His late equalizer against Valencia saw the Galacticos nick the three points from the hosts.

Benzema is not only a crucial goal scorer for Real but also has an important tactical role throughout the match. His positioning as a free roamer allows him to play as a false 9 where he combines with his midfielders to open up space for an attack.

Barcelona will need to have a strong defensive setup as the fast-paced attackers of Real Madrid could prove to be a problem for the likes of Gerard Pique and either Clement Lenglet or Samuel Umtiti. The expected full-backs, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto will have to be careful not to push too much towards the attack as Los Blanco’s quick counter will need them on heavy defensive duty in order to control the likes of Rodrygo, Vinicius and Benzema. Barca will have to be well organized at the back and not just rely on Ter Stegen’s ability to save the day.

Possession: Control in the Midfield

Barca really struggled for possession against Real Sociedad with the team having a mere 46% possession by the end of the match. The major reason for the 2-2 draw was not only the defensive faulters, but also the lost control over the midfield. When Sergio Busquets plays the Defensive midfield role, Blaugrana needs to control the ball in order for him to play to the best of his abilities. The team lost control and thus Frenkie de Jong had to fall back to a more defensive role, resulting in a loss of connection between the attack and the midfield. This led to Messi falling back to the midfield area in order to create sort of an attacking play.

Ivan Rakitic has brought stability to the squad along with his ability to recover the ball from a counter-attack. But the Croatian international’s inconsistency in performance is what hurts the player’s ability to influence the game. He also has the lowest passing accuracy and tackling rate out of all the starting midfielders. Thus, a possible introduction could be made for Carles Alena who is a more attack-minded player with the ability and his youth, he can not only link up with the attack but also come back to defend when needed.

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