After having seen their heroic efforts against Manchester City rewarded with a berth in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Real Madrid will be gunning to face their most bitter rivals, Barcelona, in La Liga this weekend.
As things stand, Real Madrid have an eight-point advantage over their rivals in La Liga. Thus, this upcoming tie will be crucial for Barcelona to get back into contention for the league title, as a win would reduce the point gap to a manageable extent with only a few matches remaining in the campaign.
On the other hand, a Real Madrid victory will put Los Blancos eleven points clear of the Catalans, and thus practically hand them their 36th La Liga title.
Both teams will be coming into this match with obviously contrasting spirits. While Real Madrid were able to withstand the Manchester City onslaught and get into yet another UCL semi-final, Barcelona were unable to make their lead from the first leg count as PSG trounced Xavi’s men to eliminate them from the premier European tournament.
Still, Madrid will have to be wary in this match for two reasons. Firstly, Barcelona will be full of rage after their defeat at the hands of PSG, and there would be no better way to pacify this anger than getting a win against Real Madrid. Thus, Xavi’s men will be ready to give their all in this match.
Secondly, Real Madrid had to play a highly demanding 120 minutes in the match against Manchester City, and some of their players may still be recovering from their strenuous efforts in that match.
Furthermore, the Catalans have been on an unbeaten run in La Liga since their defeat to Villarreal in January, and have got some important victories in the last few weeks.
Other than Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba, Carlo Ancelotti will have all his stars available for this match, though Eder Militao might not yet be ready to get on the pitch for such a demanding game.
For Xavi, Alejandro Balde and Gavi remain sidelined with injuries, but the rest of the squad will be available. He will be counting on the trio of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha to breach Real Madrid’s defense and get some goals.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti will once again be relying on Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes for the goals, while Brahim Diaz and Joselu can come later in the game to provide more threat against tired legs.
With the La Liga title on the line, both teams will be looking for a win in this match. Furthermore, fans of both sides can expect the result to be in their favor as it was December 2019 when an El Clasico ended in a draw for the last time.
