Real Madrid seeks to consider the league title almost doomed against a FC Barcelona that wants to hold on to its last ‘bullet’
MADRID, 20 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will star in a new Clásico this Sunday, the first of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (9:00 p.m.), to which both arrive in different states of mind and which will put the Blaugrana team’s options into play above all. to be able to aspire to the LaLiga EA Sports title.
After a different week emotionally and physically demanding for Carlo Ancelotti’s team and Xavi Hernández’s team, the top two teams meet for the third time this campaign and with the visitors much more urgent at the qualifying level and ‘injured’ after the elimination in the Champions League against the French Paris Saint-Germain.
The current champion could not sustain the 2-3 draw at the Parc des Princes and fell 1-4 at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium in a match marked by the expulsion in the first half of Ronald Araujo, a situation that also appeared to leave some crack in the locker room that the Terrassa coach will have worked hard to close due to Ilkay Gündogan’s apparent critical words about the action that cost the Uruguayan the red card.
Barça arrives at the Bernabéu with an eight-point disadvantage, so it knows that anything other than winning will make it regain its throne, the only ‘battle’ it has left in this campaign, which is quite complicated against a Real Madrid that did emerge victorious. in the Champions League in a true survival exercise in the face of the siege to which Manchester City subjected them, who knelt after more than two hours of play and a penalty shoot-out.
The Madrid team is in high spirits and is once again close to the possibility of a double that it was already able to achieve in 2021-2022 and that has not been very common in its history. Another thing is knowing how the physical aspect turned out and if Ancelotti will take it into account for this Classic, and if the qualifying advantage will make him approach the game in a very similar way to two years ago.
Then, the 14-time European champion received its great rival earlier in the season, with an even greater advantage and with another European ‘high’, the one produced by its comeback against PSG that had given it a place in the round of 16 . They barely had any competitive tension and took a resounding defeat (0-4), finally with no more damage than ‘honor’.
For this reason, the two teams know, beyond the historical rivalry, the importance of this Clásico, dominated by the Madridistas in the last three official matches, with a victory (0-4) that gave them a place in the final of the Copa del King of last year, in the first round at the Lluís Companys (1-2) and in the final of the Spanish Super Cup (4-1).
Results that will not matter this Sunday at the Bernabéu where we could see a match similar to the one in Saudi Arabia in January, with Real Madrid probably trying to give up the initiative more and try to surprise a Barça with speed in spaces that, despite to the scores against PSG, is at a defensive level that was key last season to win the League and that will have learned from the lesson of January.
Ancelotti assured in the preview that he has all the players available, but it is most likely that there will be some minor tweaks in his starting eleven. Ferland Mendy did not train this Saturday, but everything indicates that he will be ready to try to carry out another impeccable defensive exercise against the ‘electric’ and ‘cheeky’ Lamine Yamal, who was applauded a few weeks ago at the Bernabéu after his match with the national team against Brazil.
Eder Militao could be an option to give some of the centre-backs a rest, while in midfield, the main novelty could be the entry of a ‘fresh’ Aurelien Tchouámeni after not playing due to suspension at the Etihad. Jude Bellingham and Vinícius, Blaugrana executioners in the last two Clásicos, are emerging as starters in attack along with the inspired Rodrygo Goes.
This offensive front will put the Blaugrana defense to the test, led by Araujo who will want to make up for what happened on Tuesday and experience another of his beautiful individual duels with ‘Vini’, and by the young Pau Cubarsí, who is becoming more settled every day and who He will have his quality and maturity tested in his first Clásico.
Xavi Hernández recovers, compared to the match against PSG, the Danish Andreas Christensen, who was suspended against Luis Enrique Martínez’s team and who seems to be returning to the starting lineup to provide more strength to the midfield, which could modify the team’s most traditional drawing. culer’.
If the converted footballer is halfway in, if the player from Terrassa wants to maintain his 4-3-3, he would surely have plenty of midfielder between Frenkie de Jong and Pedri González, since Gündogan seems fixed and indisputable despite his load of minutes. The other option is for the canary to play lying towards one wing to the detriment of one of the wingers to accompany Robert Lewandowski. There, the Egarense must decide between the push of Yamal and the good moment that Raphinha is going through.
REAL MADRID: Lunin; Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militao, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouámeni, Kroos, Bellingham; Vinícius and Rodrygo.
FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Koundé, Araujo, Cubarsí, Cancelo; Gündogan, Christensen, De Jong; Yamal, Lewandowski and Pedri.
–REFEREE: Soto Grado (C.Riojano).
–Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
–TIME: 9:00 p.m./Movistar LaLiga.
