Match Preview

The potential biggest match of the season is here as Real Madrid host Barcelona at the Di Stefano on Saturday.

These two clubs met in the first Clasico of the season where Real won 3-1 at the Camp Nou back in October. Real has won both of the last two matches against Barcelona, a win here would make it three in a row for the first time in over 40 years. Real also hasn’t beaten Barca twice in a league season in almost 15 years.

Real are perfect in their last three La Liga matches while Barcelona have won their last six league matches. Real sits in third trailing Barca by two points while Atletico still sits in first. This match will better decide who will give the league leaders the most pressure on the title race, which has tightened the past several weeks.

This is the toughest week of the season as Real already had to defeat Liverpool in their Champions League match earlier this week. After the conclusion of El Clasico, Real will play the away fixture on Wednesday.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real will have to play this match still without Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal and Eden Hazard.

Barcelona will be without Neto, Phillippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati due to injuries. Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto have both returned to the squad.

There are no suspensions for either club for this edition of El Clasico.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Vinicius, Benzema

Zidane will likely field a similar lineup to the one that featured against Liverpool. Marco Asensio and Vinicius played very well and have both earned another start. Eder Militao and Nacho have also done well filling in for Varane and Ramos.

Barcelona

Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, de Jong, Pedri; Messi, Griezmann, Dembele

Prediction

Real Madrid—Barcelona 2-2

This is a must-win for both sides if they hope to overtake each other and put pressure on Atletico. While a draw isn’t ideal, dropping all three points in this match is a huge blow to either club’s title chances or hopes.

Real has already defeated Barcelona once this season, but Barca is playing much better football now. They’re one of the toughest teams to beat in the league currently and they will be bringing their best game against a Real side that still has some key misses in the lineup.

Clasicos are always better when both clubs are competing for the title and there’s meaning to the final score.

All eyes will be on the Di Stefano when the opening whistle is blown by Gil Manzano, who is stepping in for the injured Mateu Lahoz. This is the biggest match of the season, this is El Clasico.