Barcelona must recover from its painful Champions League exit in time to face Real Madrid on Sunday with the La Liga title on the line.
Hansi Flick’s team was moments away from reaching its first European final in a decade when Inter Milan conjured a 4-3 extra-time comeback on Tuesday. The Italian side won 7-6 on aggregate in one of the most memorable knockout ties in recent football history.
Barcelona’s youthful team was left reeling from the loss, but Flick immediately tried to put the focus on the upcoming clasico with only four days separating the two crucial games.
“This game is over and now we have to pick ourselves up and look ahead as we have the clasico coming up,” Flick said after the defeat at San Siro. “I will wake the team up.”
What’s at stake?
Barcelona leads Madrid by four points and a victory would give it a comfortable cushion, but a Madrid win would throw open the title chase in the three remaining rounds.
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Barcelona is seeking a double after having beaten Madrid 3-2 in extra time in the Copa del Rey final two weeks ago. A Barcelona triumph would also complete a sweep of all four clasicos this season; it beat Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup in January after winning 4-0 at Madrid in the league in October.
Madrid, in contrast, is trying to salvage a disappointing season by successfully defending its La Liga title ahead of this summer’s expanded Club World Cup.
Squad news
The wear and tear of the season has taken its toll and left several players, especially in defence, on the injured list.
Madrid will be without its entire first-choice backline of Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy. Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who moonlights as a left back, is also out.
That means youth player Raul Asenscio and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will likely anchor Madrid’s defence with Lucas Vazquez and Fran Garcia as full backs.
Flick will have to decide if Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres starts at striker. Lewandowski missed several matches before he came on as a late substitute against Inter this week but was unable to prove effective.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
Flick will have to decide if Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres starts at striker. Lewandowski missed several matches before he came on as a late substitute against Inter this week but was unable to prove effective.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
Barcelona is hoping left back Alejandro Balde will recover from a left-thigh injury that ruled him out of the series against Inter.
Right back Jules Kounde, who netted the winner in the Copa del Rey final, has been ruled out by a left-thigh injury. Ronald Araujo, or perhaps Eric Garcia, will take his place and face off against Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.
Flick will have to decide if Robert Lewandowski or Ferran Torres starts at striker. Lewandowski missed several matches before he came on as a late substitute against Inter this week but was unable to prove effective.
Watch out for the midfield battle between Barcelona’s Pedri Gonzalez and Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. The playmakers are critical to directing their teams’ attacks.
Numbers speak
All three prior clasicos have been high scoring — at least for Barcelona with 12 total goals to Madrid’s four, so expect more goals against the depleted defences at the Olympic Stadium.
Led by Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Lewandowski, Barcelona has a league-high 91 goals, compared to Madrid’s 69. Both sides have conceded 33 goals this campaign.
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Lewandowski leads the league with 25 goals. Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is right behind with 24. But while Yamal and Raphinha are having breakout seasons, Vinicius and Rodrigo have been inconsistent.
With Barcelona ruling the statistics and recent meetings, Madrid will have to capitalise on its extra days of rest and hope that Barcelona’s morale was damaged by Inter.
Final hurrah for Ancelotti?
The vibe in Spain is that Sunday’s game will likely be the last big contest for Carlo Ancelotti as the Madrid coach.
He is under contract through the next campaign but is widely expected to leave the club after a rough season in which the team played worse despite adding Mbappe to its squad.
Brazil has been courting Ancelotti for over a year and it appears talks are still ongoing with the veteran manager. Ancelotti has repeatedly deflected questions regarding his future by saying he will announce his plans when the season ends.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com