The Blaugrana are in brilliant form and have had longer to prepare for this game, so put some money on the visitors coming out on top in this must-watch La Liga contest.
Pick:
Back Barcelona to win
How to Watch Real Madrid vs Barcelona
| Real Madrid vs Barcelona |
| What |
Real Madrid vs Barcelona |
| Where |
Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid, Spain |
| When |
Saturday, 10 April 2021, 3.00 PM EDT |
| How to watch |
beIN SPORTS |
Just two months ago, Atletico Madrid was 10 points clear at the top of La Liga. Their stuttering form since then – Diego Simeone’s side have won just three of their last eight top-flight fixtures – has opened the door to Real Madrid and Barcelona, who both smell blood. This is now a three-horse race for the title, and the winner of Saturday’s game in the Spanish capital will probably be the new favorites to lift the trophy.
This game could go either way, but the best choice is to back Barcelona to come out on top. They have been tremendous domestically for several months now and did not have a Champions League game to distract them in midweek. That could give them the edge against their eternal rivals.
Real Madrid Will Hope Their Big-Game Nous Pays Off in the Clasico
Real Madrid have been written off on multiple occasions this season. It is not that long ago that Zinedine Zidane was said to be hanging on to his job by his fingernails. Madrid were off the pace in La Liga and stuttering in Europe, and the club was said to be considering a change in the dugout despite all that the Frenchman has achieved in his two spells as manager.
Things change quickly in soccer, and no one is questioning Zidane’s future going into Saturday’s Clasico. This was billed as a week that could define Madrid’s season, and it has gone well for them so far. A 2-0 victory over Eibar last weekend extended their winning run to three consecutive matches in the top flight, before Madrid put Liverpool to the sword in the Champions League on Tuesday. A 3-1 victory in the first leg of their quarter-final clash puts Zidane’s side within touching distance of a place in the last four.
Now comes the big one: a duel with an in-form Barcelona team two points above them in the table. This iteration is not a vintage Madrid team, particularly with injuries keeping out the likes of Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Eden Hazard. But Zidane’s side contains bundles of grit, experience, and knowhow, and the manager will hope that serves his players well on Saturday.
Madrid used all those qualities in their defeat of Liverpool, and they also played the better soccer on the night. The Spanish champions have been inconsistent this term, slipping up in games they really should have won. Yet when the heat is on, Madrid tend to come up trumps. It will be fascinating to see if that is the case again here.
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Barcelona will also feel confident as they seek to avenge October’s 3-1 loss to Madrid. This was a club mired in crisis at times in the first half of the season. Ronald Koeman was criticized as out of his depth, while Josep Maria Bartomeu was forced to stand down as president and Lionel Messi flirted with the exit door. Off-field problems remain, chiefly around the gargantuan debt around the club’s neck, but Barcelona have been close to faultless on the pitch of late.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat by PSG in the Champions League showed that the Blaugrana are still some way short of where they want to be in continental competition, but their record in La Liga this calendar year is sensational. Barcelona have won 13 of their last 14 matches in the competition, dropping points only in a 1-1 draw with Cadiz in February – and they were unfortunate not to win that match, having dominated from start to finish.
Barcelona have tightened up at the back, keeping clean sheets in five of their last seven domestic outings, and Messi has recaptured his best form in the final third. Barcelona hit four goals past Huesca and six past Real Sociedad last month, and their attacking players will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a Madrid team missing their two best center-backs in Ramos and Varane.
Fresher Legs Could Make All the Difference in Titanic Tussle
Another factor in Barcelona’s favor is preparation time. Granted, Koeman’s men were in action on Monday, just 24 hours before Madrid entertained Liverpool in the Champions League. But a home game against Real Valladolid does not compare in terms of intensity to a tussle with Jurgen Klopp’s high-energy Reds. Madrid’s last match will have taken much more out of their legs – and their minds – than Barcelona’s, even if the Catalans required a last-gasp goal to collect all three points.
With little to choose between the two teams, that could make all the difference. Madrid did not seem to miss Varane and Ramos in midweek, but Liverpool was poor and did not do enough to test an under-strength backline. With the form they are in, Barcelona will not make the same mistake.
This match could hardly be bigger. Any game pitting Real Madrid against Barcelona is significant, but this one feels like it could help determine the destination of the La Liga title, particularly with Atletico Madrid on a downward spiral. It will be tight and tense, but Barcelona might just edge it.
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