New Delhi: It couldn't be tighter at the top of La Liga and this weekend's El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona could decide the title. Level on points, Real Madrid host red-hot Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu in what appears to be the most crucial 90 minutes for both the teams.
Real Madrid lost their corresponding fixture 1-0 at the Camp Nou. But since then, Madrid have improved drastically and surged to the top of the points table with better goal difference than the defending champions. Playing at their own backyard, Madrid will be hoping to continue their unbeatable record at home this season and will be hoping to take the revenge of their 2-6 humiliation they suffered last year in the same fixture.
Already out of the Champions League this season, Madrid have just the Spanish title to go for. Equipped with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Los Blancos surely have plenty of goals in them and the match will guarantee goals and entertainment for the viewers all over.
With another galactico era in the making, Madrid's weak point is the central defence. They are not able to get the right pairing at the heart of defence for a long time. Kaka is a major doubt for the match so Guti will be hoping to shine and roll back the years for Madrid.
Both sides have a commitment to playing attacking football and set up in a similar formation with defensive midfielders anchoring the central areas and flying wingers providing width, pace and guile on the flanks.
Barcelona will be high on confidence after a four star performance against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final. Lionel Messi will be surely the main man for Barcelona. What more can you say about the world's best player? Barca coach Pep Guardiola was lost for words after the Arsenal game, in which the diminutive Argentine netted four goals. Surely he has everything in him to repeat the same and give Madrista the blues. He is unstoppable so there would be no point man-marking him. He already has 37 goals in 42 matches he has played this season.
But Barcelona are more than Messi, with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Zlatan Ibrahimovic more than capable of winning the match on their own. Every match is won or lost in the midfield, so be assured that this match would also be a tactical battle and both the teams will try to cancel out one another. But if Madrid allow Barcelona to dominate the play, then another thumping is on the cards.
For neutrals the game would make for mouth-watering entertainment with arguably some of the best players in the world facing each other. It's more than just a match. Messi will be hoping to stamp his authority in this match and prove that he is the best by a distance whereas Ronaldo will surely have something to say about that. It's time to gear up for El Clasico.
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