El Clasico Preview: The final time that Real Madrid performed Barcelona, it brushed apart a staff struggling to seek out its means after being orphaned by Lionel Messi.
Madrid’s 2-1 win in October ignited ugly scenes of livid Barcelona followers banging Ronald Koeman’s automobile because the beleaguered coach sped away from Camp Nou.
Fast ahead to Sunday when Barcelona with Xavi Hernández in command of a new-look squad will head to the Santiago Bernabéu to check how far it has closed the hole with its fiercest rival.
Most “clásico” matches have an effect on the Spanish league title race. Not a lot this time. Madrid enjoys a snug lead on the prime of the standings and solely a significant collapse will cease it from including to its file 34 league titles.
With 10 video games left, Madrid leads Sevilla by 10 factors and each Barcelona and Atlético Madrid by 15.
The fundamental query for coach Carlo Ancelotti is whether or not Karim Benzema will likely be accessible to play.
The France striker is uncertain after he injured his left leg within the last minutes of a 3-0 win at Mallorca on Monday. He needed to go away the sport after scoring twice to take his league-leading tally to 22 objectives.
The 34-year-old Benzema is enjoying the perfect soccer of his lengthy profession this season. He has scored eight objectives in his final 5 matches, together with his second-half hat trick to oust Paris Saint-Germain from the Champions League final week.
If he’s not match to play, Madrid will flip to winger Vinícius Júnior to guide its assault. His 14 league objectives are second solely to Benzema in your entire competitors. Ancelotti might additionally play Marco Asensio as a “false nine” and maybe give Federico Valverde a second straight begin as a romping midfielder.
The Barcelona that Madrid confronted at Camp Nou on Oct. 24 has undergone a profound overhaul. In that loss, Ansu Fati, Memphis Depay and Sergiño Dest began as Barcelona’s entrance three and Philippe Coutinho and Sergio Agüero got here off the bench as substitutes.
Now, thanks a formidable effort by the membership to usher in new gamers within the January switch window, Barcelona’s assault options newcomers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traoré. And whereas Coutinho and Agüero are now not on the staff, 38-year-old Dani Alves has returned to play at proper again. Ousmane Dembélé, who was injured once they performed in October, can also be offering a spark to Barcelona’s assault.
Aubameyang and Torres have made an instantaneous affect since becoming a member of from Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively. Aubameyang has scored six objectives in simply 9 appearances, with Torres including one other 5 objectives. Depay has additionally scored twice just lately, after being sidelined for 2 months with a hamstring harm, giving him a team-high 10 objectives for the season.
After struggling to attain earlier than it received its winter reinforcements, Barcelona has scored 4 objectives 5 instances over the previous two months.
“(Barcelona) has undergone a big change since Xavi arrived and has improved its play and is winning games easily by a big difference, so we will have to be careful,” Madrid’s Valverde advised Cadena SER on Wednesday.
Aubameyang has been significantly spectacular provided that he was benched at Arsenal earlier than the English membership let him go.
“The truth is, I kind of expected this because I have been working hard and wanted to make a good start (at Barcelona),” Aubameyang stated on Wednesday.
Aubameyang stated that he was flourishing as Barcelona’s pure striker, as in comparison with at Arsenal the place “I played a lot better on the left.”
“Coach already knew what I could do when I arrived and we have worked hard on the pressure that I must put on defenders (to recover the ball) and knowing how to play in tight spaces that is characteristic of this team,” the Gabon worldwide stated.
Sevilla, which has misplaced floor to Madrid in current weeks, hosts Real Sociedad on Sunday.
