Real Madrid vs Barcelona: League leaders welcome a resurgent Blaugrana for the El Clasico

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will host a resurgent Barcelona in the latest edition of El Clasico at Bernabeu on Sunday. The Los Blancos are currently placed on top of the standings, 10 points clear of second-placed Sevilla and 15 points above third-placed Barcelona. Both sides are heading into the El Clasico on the back of some impressive form as Real Madrid thrashed Mallorca 3-0 in the La Liga fixture on Sunday while Barcelona defeated Galatasaray 2-1 on Thursday to enter the quarter-finals of Europa League.

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Sunday is #ElClásico Dayhttps://t.co/aHj6NZKtGf

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 19, 2022

Real have won all of their last five games in all competitions and their last defeat came against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last-16 first leg in February. Carlo Ancelotti’s side produced an incredible performance in the second leg at home to secure a 3-2 aggregate win and enter the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition. Karim Benzema led the thrilling comeback with a 17-minute hat-trick.

The Frenchman has been in stupendous form, having scored 32 goals and registered 12 assists in all competitions so far. In the previous match against Mallorca, Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half before Benzema netted a late-double to seal the win. 

Real Madrid have the best home record in the La Liga this season , winning 10 and drawing four of their 14 matches to collect 34 points, while they have won each of their last four league games with Barcelona, including a 2-1 victory at Camp Nou earlier this season. 

New look Barca under Xavi

On the other hand, Barcelona had a disastrous start to the season as they struggled with on-field and off-field financial issues, and that led to the departure of Ronal Koeman. Former Barca midfielder Xavi took charge of the team in November and he has done a stupendous job so far to lift them up to where they are now.

The Catalan outfit are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions, their previous defeat was against Athletic Club in January. Xavi’s side have won all of their last four league games, scoring 14 times and conceding just twice.

The January recruits have played a pivotal role in Barca’s resurgence under Xavi. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres have been in brilliant form. Aubameyang netted seven times in 10 appearances since joining from Arsenal while Torres has scored five goals and registered four assist for Barca. Meanwhile Adama Traore’s pace and physicality gives a different dimension to Barca’s attack down the right right flank. 

Xavi’s side are entering a huge period of the season, with their next two in the league coming against Real Marid and Sevilla  before travelling to Frankfurt for the first leg of their Europa League last-8 tie.