Barcelona lead Real Madrid by two points heading into Sunday's huge El Clasico - which could well have a huge say in the destination of this season's Spanish title.
Sunday’s latest clash of the Spanish titans at the Santiago Bernabeu arrives at a key moment in the Spanish title race - and with nothing between the two teams' historical record ahead of the latest chapter in the biggest club rivalry in world football.
Barcelona travel to Real Madrid with a two point lead in the table, meaning victory for either team would be a huge step towards claiming the 2019/20 LaLiga Santander title.
Real Madrid had led the standings after a 15-match unbeaten run in LaLiga, until Zinedine Zidane’s side slipped to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Levante last weekend, with the most exciting title race in many years taking yet another twist.
That saw Barca dramatically take over at the top, after Quique Setien’s men beat Eibar 5-0 at the Camp Nou, with a four goal ‘poker’ from Lionel Messi stretching the Argentine’s lead in the LaLiga Santander top scorer race.
Barça club captain Messi is also the LaLiga El Clasico’s record goalscorer with 18 goals in 26 LaLiga meetings, including a famous hat-trick at the Bernabeu in 2014. However, his Real Madrid counterpart Sergio Ramos will make his 44th appearance against Barca on Sunday, the most of any player ever on either team.
Both sides come into Sunday’s game with serious fitness concerns. Real Madrid superstar Eden Hazard is definitely out after suffering another ankle injury last weekend, while Barça may be without three first choice defenders in Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique.
That should bring opportunities for younger players, with Real Madrid youngsters Fede Valverde and Vinicius Junior both potential game-changers. Barça’s 18-year-old forward Ansu Fati could also make his first LaLiga El Clasico start.
Both sides go into the game locked together with 72 wins each in LaLiga El Clasicos, alongside 35 draws, the latest of which was a tightly fought 0-0 at the Camp Nou last December.
A quirk of recent years has been the away team often getting positive results in this fixture, with Barça having won their last four visits to the Bernabeu. However, Real Madrid are unbeaten at their own stadium this season in LaLiga, while Barça’s away form has been a concern with defeats at Athletic Club, Granada and Levante.
Setien’s side showed their ability on the road with a 1-1 draw at Serie A side Napoli in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg, with Antoine Griezmann grabbing a key away goal for the Blaugrana.
Wednesday then saw Real Madrid’s path to the Champions League quarter-finals grow more complicated, as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Manchester City, although Los Blancos will still believe they can overcome the deficit in the return game.
Sunday sees the focus back squarely on LaLiga, though, as a potential 650 million fans around the world tune in to see whether Real Madrid or Barca can tilt the historical El Clasico record in their favour and take what could be a decisive step in this season’s title race.
Real Madrid v Barcelona - Talking points
Luka Modric vs Ivan Rakitic: Croatian colleagues to rivals
Croatia’s historic run to the 2018 World Cup final was driven by their midfield engine room of Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić, two players who together played the tournament of their lives for their country but now find themselves on opposite sides of the divide for ElClasico. While they’ll still occupy the centre of the pitch, they’ll suddenly be competing for possession, rather than sharing it.
Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard: Real Madrid’s Belgian duo
No Belgian played for Real Madrid in almost half a century, but the capital side now have two in their side after signing Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard from Chelsea in each of the past two summers. They play two of the most important roles in the team: goalkeeper and attacking focal point. Courtois and Hazard have enjoyed success with their national team, securing a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, and will now turn their attention to handing Real Madrid a first ElClasico win in LaLiga since 2016, although Hazard won’t be able to help from the pitch after suffering another ankle injury this past weekend.
Toni Kroos vs Marc-Andre ter Stegen: The long-range battle
Wearing the gloves for Barcelona is Marc-André ter Stegen, a goalkeeper who’ll know just how dangerous his Germany teammate Toni Kroos can be. While Kroos rarely enters the penalty area, ter Stegen will still have to be wary thanks to Kroos’ deadly ability to find the back of the net from long range. He can also wreak havoc with set-pieces, which could unnerve Barcelona’s defence. Barça will need their goalkeeper on top form. Luckily for them, he usually is.
Lionel Messi vs Casemiro: Yet another rivalry match
Lionel Messi and Casemiro have played against each other 15 times in two of the most competitive matches in world football: Barcelona vs Real Madrid and Argentina vs Brazil. Their last international encounter came in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America, when Casemiro’s Brazil overcame Messi’s Argentina 2-0. Their head-to-head record is almost a dead tie: Messi with six victories, Casemiro with five, and four draws apiece. This latest duel will be one to watch, with one of Casemiro’s primary tasks likely to be keeping tabs on the No. 10.
Antoine Griezmann vs Raphael Varane: A duel of French World Cup winners
They won the World Cup two summers ago, but Antoine Griezmann and Raphaël Varane won’t be thinking about that come Clásico night. The forward and defender will be 100 percent focused on the three LaLiga Santander points up for grabs and will no doubt use their familiarity with each other’s playing style from international duty to gain an advantage. Intriguingly, they’ll likely occupy the same area of the pitch and come up against each other a lot across the 90 minutes.
Sky TV and Virgin TV customers across the UK can watch El Clasico live on LaLigaTV this Sunday at 8pm GMT. LaLigaTV is the first dedicated channel to broadcast every live match and provide 24/7 access to “All of LaLiga. All in one place."
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