El Clasico: Part I is finally here! But Lionel Messi might not be part of it. La Liga leaders Barcelona will travel to the Spanish capital to face their old rivals, Real Madrid, with the availability of their Argentinian superstar still up in the air. Barca still have two incredible strikers to call upon, though. Are they enough to outgun Cristiano Ronaldo and co. at the Bernabeu?
Get a full breakdown of this battle between No. 1 and No. 2 in Spain below. Meanwhile, check out the other top soccer matchup this Saturday with Manchester City vs. Liverpool.
Real Madrid went into the international break losing ground to Barcelona at the top of the table as they suffered their first loss of the season in a 3-2 away defeat to Sevilla. It was an uncharacteristically bad performance from the Madrid defense, which had conceded just four goals all season prior to the loss.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Real has conceded just one of their seven goals allowed at the Bernabeu, though, and after that poor showing at Sevilla, manager and master tactician Rafa Benitez should have his team better prepped defensively at home for the visit of Barcelona. Real has won four of five home games this season, with one draw. First-choice goalie Keylor Navas should return to goal after missing the Sevilla match, which should give the Real backline a nice boost.
Meanwhile, Benitez will have his full complement of attacking stars to choose from. Gareth Bale returned from a month-long layoff against Sevilla, although Karim Benzema is still a doubt to make his return from a muscle injury. Benzema’s presence would be huge, as the Frenchman has scored four times in Real’s last three home meetings with Barca.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the crown jewel in Real’s formidable front three, but the Portuguese superstar has not hit the heights of years past this season. He’s found the net eight times in 11 La Liga matches, which is pretty good for anybody else, but a step below Ronaldo’s insanely high standards.
However, it should benefit Ronaldo and his Real teammates that they won’t exactly be facing a Barca team that has been rock solid at the back this season, especially away from home. Barca has conceded seven goals in five away matches, and lost two of those matches.
The big unknown for Barcelona heading into El Clasico is the status of their talisman, Lionel Messi. Messi, the near-consensus best player in the world, has been out for the past two months with a knee ligament injury. But he finally returned to full training during the international break and could feature against Real.
Messi’s return to the Barca line-up would be a tremendous boost to the team as they enter the Bernabeu, where they have won just once in their last five visits (one draw, three losses).
Even if Barca are once again without Messi, though, they have more than enough firepower upfront to get the big away win. The dynamic duo of Neymar and Luis Suarez has been absolutely sizzling in the Argentinian’s absence. The two are 1-2 in the La Liga scoring charts with 11 and nine goals, respectively, this season.
Suarez has scored six times in his last four matches in all competitions, while Neymar has five in his last three in a Barca shirt. The two have been mainly responsible for Barca winning their last four league matches by an aggregate score of 13-3.
Barca have admittedly had their problems away from home, but having Messi and key midfielder Ivan Rakitic back would go a long way toward solving any problems the team may have.
Writer’s Prediction
Messi plays, but is lacking the sharpness to give Barca the edge. There will still be goals, though, as El Clasico ends in an entertaining 2-2 draw (+245).
