El Clasico is this weekend, and we happen to have some Real Madrid and Barcelona partisans on the staff here at The18. So we asked Bryce (a Barcelona fan) and Javier (a Real Madrid fan) to write about why the opposing team will win on Sunday.
Why Real Madrid Will Win El Clasico
By Bryce Badwan
Real Madrid haven’t lost a match since February 22nd and in that same amount of time Barcelona have been an inconsistent mess, especially when they’re away from the Camp Nou. Trips to Manchester, Paris, Turin and Malaga showed that this team can’t seem to step up in big moments with out the help of their faithful supporters.
On this ride that has had unbelievable highs (PSG comeback) and puzzling lows (losses to Deportivo, Juventus, Malaga) the other guys in the clean white jerseys have been steady. If it wasn’t for Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos blacking out for 10 seconds against Atletico, Real Madrid would have 3 wins in the last 10 days over Bayern Munich and their city rivals. Impressive.
“But it’s Luis Enrique’s last El Clasico and Barcelona will surely get up for him and the La Liga title race!”
Sure, that’s a fair point. But Barcelona’s problems need more than an inspiring speech to be fixed.Let’s talk about their latest match against Bayern Munich. Sure they have had the ref in their pocket but their defense did just enough to frustrate a Bayern Munich offense that desperately needed goals. And their offense? (Cristiano Ronaldo *cough cough*) They’re on a goal-scoring tear. All of this doesn’t bode well for a team who has been consistently lazy and showed poor contintnuity on the backend. And holding the Real Madrid counter in check? Let’s just say Gonzalo Higuain won’t be there to help Ter Stegan out.
Another odd tidbit regarding momentum is Lionel Messi. Not his current form, but that he hasn’t scored in his last six El Clasico matches. Perhaps Sergio Ramos and CO. have figured out a way to slow him down. The thing is, Messi has been an absolute force in La Liga matches this season, and I’m not stupid enough like some other people who are saying he’s lost a step. But I will say that the Flea seems to be ineffective when his team really needs him, and when Barcelona have needed a spark they have turned to Neymar.
Neymar has been a catalyst for Barcelona in times of need. La Liga decided to interfere with the glory that is El Clasico by serving him a three-match-ban and upholding that ban after Barcelona’s appeal.
Now I’m not going to sit here and talk about how Ronaldo didn’t get a yellow after reaming the referee during the Atletico match and how Neymar did despite getting hacked all game. But Neymar’s absence is a massive loss for Barcelona. With Suarez pretty much taking a vacation to Punta Del Este while he’s on the pitch, Neymar has been Barcelona’s main source for creative play making. So that’s that. Barca lose their spark while Real Madrid add theirs in Gareth Bale.
The next factor is an easy one. Cristiano Ronaldo.
The ‘Groomed One’ (shout out to that guy who always comments that) has been cooking. In his last nine appearances for Madrid he has nine goals and three assists. YES! I know, Cristiano has some assists. But how has Ronaldo fared when he plays Barcelona? He has 16 goals in his last 18 appearances.
As I said earlier, Barcelona have struggled away from home. Failing to contain other teams' (especially teams littered with talent) playmakers has been their weakness. Real Madrid will have their chances offensively. It will just come down to them capitalizing on them. And I think Cristiano won’t have any issue doing that.
Why Barcelona Will Win El Clasico:
By Javier Martinez
Barcelona has one of the best teams in the world. Ter Stegen is a great keeper and Manuel Neuer’s backup on the German national team, Pique is one of the 5 best center backs in the world, Umtiti is having a great first season and is already a regular on the French national team, Jordi Alba is Spain’s starting left back, Busquets is still one of the best holding midfielders in the world In defense, Rakitic has been the team’s best offensive midfielder, Iniesta is still producing and helping in the center of the park, and of course we cannot forget about Messi, Suarez and Neymar (though Neymar is suspended for el Clasico).
In fact, Barcelona’s only real weakness is right back ,where they have Sergi Roberto, non-natural right back, starting.
Neymar may not be available, but Messi and Suarez will play and there is no need to explain the ruckus these two can create, especially Messi. We’ve seen it time and time again. Even with Barcelona’s poor performance in the first leg against Juventus, they still managed to create some dangerous opportunities thanks to Messi and Suarez and could have easily left Turin with one or two away goals. As long as these two are playing, anything can happen.
Right now, Real Madrid’s biggest weaknesses are Keylor Navas and Nacho. Navas has struggled this season since returning from his injury and has looked very insecure. Nacho, on the other hand, did a great job in the series against Bayern Munich. However, he is a 5’10" center back who was exposed at times on aerial plays by the Bavarians. Barcelona have two great aerial attackers in Luis Suarez and Pique. Two players Barcelona will greatly need if they want to try exploiting Madrid in this area.
Barcelona sit behind Madrid in the La Liga table: Interesting statistic. Since the 2011/2012 season, the team entering El Clasico behind the other in the league table have won five times, lost four, and drawn two. Even more interesting, three of those wins were away from home. Important to know as it is make or break for Barcelona in their pursuit for La Liga.
A loss or even a draw will virtually give the title to Real Madrid, who still need to play a makeup game against Celta Vigo. Along with the league title at play, Barcelona will also be looking to take out their frustration, after the Champions League elimination to Juventus, out on their most hated rival.
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