EL CLASICO
FC BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID CF
Saturday, December 3rd
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
10:15 EST BEIN Sports (television) fubotv.com (streaming)
Happy Tuesday folks! This week we are in for the treat of all treats, or better yet Christmas has come early as the biggest matchup on the planet will be taking place this Saturday, December 3rd! It’s none other than EL CLASICO! Barcelona vs Real Madrid! I simply can’t wait for 10:15 EST to stream this match live on fuboTV. The countdown has been going on for months now on BEIN Sports, and thankfully we are just four days away now! So with that said, lets delve into the details of this hated rivalry between the worlds top two clubs, provide my keys to the match, and reveal who will win round one of this season’s El Clasico.
Hated Rivals
The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is deeply rooted in a pure distain for one another. Whether that’d be due to political differences within Spain, or the fact that these two clubs are simply the most decorated in all of soccer. For starters, Real Madrid holds the record for most Champions League Triumphs with 11, while Barcelona are tied for third all-time with five. Oh, and by the way, these two have combined won each of the past three Champions Leagues (2 for Real and 1 for Barca). In addition to their European success, domestically Real Madrid has won a record 32 La Liga campaigns, meanwhile Barcelona holds the record for the most Copa del Rey (28) and Supercopa de Espana (12) Titles.
Off the pitch, this rivalry breads even deeper into the fanbases. Two groups of people, Catalans who have been seeking political independence from Spain for some time now, and Madridistas, who represent the crown and the capitol of Spain. Thus, heated arguments, and I’d imagine violent clashes are bound to take place when these two fanbases are near each other. And from personal experience from attending an El Clasique match between Paris Saint Germain and Marseille, altercations in the streets or within the stadium are inventible. Therefore, there’ll plenty of passion radiating from within the Camp Nou providing a spectacle unlike any other.
Key Personnel
When you hear the words El Clasico, you think instantly think of Messi vs Ronaldo! The two best players of our generation. Lionel Messi, this man with a record five Ballon d’Ors, is La Blaugrana’s maestro and El Clasico’s all-time top goalscorer with 21 goals to his name. Cristiano Ronaldo, second all-time in Ballon d’Ors with three and soon to be four, is Los Blancos’ freight-train forward and El Clasico’s third all-time goalscorer with 16 goals. These two men are also first and second in the Pichichi Standings for La Liga Top Goalscorer as Ronaldo has 10 and Messi has 9. In addition, Messi tops the Champions League goalscoring chart through 5 matchdays, although he’s only played in three, and has netted 8 times. Lastly Ronaldo is first and Messi is second on the Champions League career goalscoring list. Ronaldo has 96 goals and Messi has 92, third place Raul (retired) has 71. Insane! Thus, its clear that these two famed forwards will assuredly dazzle us this weekend. The winner of this battle between Messi and Ronaldo will likely see his side win El Clasico.
With that said, there are plenty of other stars that’ll have a say on center stage. For Real, keep an eye on Galactico Luka Modric. The incredibly creative Croatian midfielder is bound to produce scoring opportunities for the Real front three whomever they are. Ronaldo will be playing, but Bale and Benzema are both out. Lastly for Madrid, Marcelo is a dangerous forward thinking left back that is prone to come up with an assist or a goal, which could be vital as the forward situation is a real question mark.
As for the Cules, keep an eye on Pique. He’s Barca’s best defender, but has endured an injury-laden season. He just came back from a leg injury that hampered him for about a month a few matches ago, but once again got banged up this past weekend against Real Sociedad. He had his ankle heavily taped and was hobbling at times throughout the game. Come Saturday, Barcelona needs a great performance from Pique and the only way that’ll happen is if he’s healthy. Pique is a tough egg and will battle through the pain, but Madrid is the best, so if he is even a half a step slower, Los Blancos will exploit Pique’s lack of speed and agility and get past him. Another position of concern for La Azulgrana is midfield. Ever since captain Andres Iniesta went down due to injury, Barca has lost its bite in the center of the park. A team that prides itself on commanding the midfield, through winning the ball back quickly and producing through ball passes to MSN, has become a shell of itself with Iniesta’s absence. This was clearly highlighted in the Sociedad game, where Barca had the fewer of the possessions; which seemingly never happens except in in El Clasico matches. For this to change, I’m calling upon Ivan Rakitic. He’s had poor run of form, but when he’s on, he can effectively press, win the ball back and create chances moving forward. If Barca is to win this match, they need to win the midfield, and it starts with Rackitic.
LSB Prediction:
Real Madrid is currently the hottest team in the world, as they’ve now gone 31 matches unbeaten. A run of form that is second longest in Spanish history, only to Barcelona’s 39 match unbeaten streak from the 2014-15 season and into the 2015-16 campaign. Barca meanwhile, have suffered through a bevy of injuries and failed new faces, resulting in the worst start to a La Liga season since 2007, albeit they’re still in second place. Thus, all of the cards are pointing in Real’s favor. Still, with Barca sitting six points adrift of its hated rivals and coming off of perhaps the worst performance in the Luis Enrique era, which Lucho himself stated post game against Sociedad, Ifully expect an out of this world effort from the men in blue and red. Plus, Real has to lose sometime. Could it just be that Barca returns the favor of ending the streak, as did Real last season? Messi will be “magisterial” once again, as Roy Hodson would say, as he’ll produce a “nipple tickler of a ball” nearing the game’s end to Luis Suarez (Los Pistoleros) and negate Ronaldo’s brace. 3-2 FC BARCELONA