It is that time of the year again; La Liga leaders Real Madrid are all set to host arch-rivals FC Barcelona at home on Sunday. Los Blancos are currently are the top of the table while Los Cules are in fourth in the league table.
Real Madrid currently lead their rivals by 15 points, and are ten points ahead of closest rivals Sevilla. For Barcelona, it is all about finishing in the top four this season.
But, the stakes will be high in El Clasico. This clash has been building up and it will be the first time Barcelona will face their eternal rivals in La Liga under Xavi.
The last time these two sides met was at the Spanish Supercup semi-finals. Los Blancos bagged the victory by a margin of 3-2. But, the Blaugrana have looked a different outfit since that loss.
It will be two young teams that are under transition, taking on each other in what promises to be the ultimate test to gauge their respective progress this season.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid will be without their top-scorer this season. Karim Benzema is out injured and will not be taking part on Sunday. There have been reports suggesting that Ancelotti is ready to try Mariano in place of Benzema.
There are options for Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale to start as well but at this stage, that looks unlikely. With Benzema out, Nacho is expected to don the captain’s armband. Ferland Mendy has also been ruled out.
Barcelona
Sergino Dest sustained a left hamstring injury in his side’s 2-1 victory in Istanbul, on Thursday. That means Dest will not take part in this fixture. Ronald Araujo will also make his way back into the Barcelona lineup.
Garcia could start from the bench and so could Clement Lenglet. Dani Alves will play as the right-back. Sergi Roberto, Alejandro Balde, and Moussa Wague continue to be sidelined due to injury.
Predicted Real Madrid lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Nacho, Alaba, Militao, Carvajal; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, Mariano
Predicted Barcelona lineup (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Alves, Araujo, Pique, Alba; Busquets, de Jong, Pedri; Gavi, Aubameyang, Dembele
Real Madrid- Vinicius Jr.
Vinicius Jr. has been one of the most important players for Madrid this season. With Dest not available, Vinicius. could use his speed to outrun Dani Alves. That said, the last time these two sides, Vinicius was a constant threat to Barcelona, and he even managed to get on the scoresheet.
One can expect the young Brazilian to enter the scoring books once again, on Sunday. He has 14 goals and six assists to his name in La Liga this season, from 26 appearances.
Barcelona- Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang has a good scoring record against Real Madrid. He has scored five goals against the Whites, with three of them coming at the Bernabeu. He has fitted in nicely in Xavi’s system and is in a blistering run of form.
Xavi will count on Aubameyang to provide him with those much-needed breakthroughs. He has five goals to his name this season, from just six appearances.
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