The much-talked-about 'El Clasico trilogy' comes to an end. In the past month, Barcelona and Real Madrid have faced off twice; and in a space of four days, two of the biggest clubs in world football will take on each other again, for the fourth time in the 2018-19 season.
On Wednesday, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final to win 4-1 on aggregate.
The likelihood of the Spanish giants meeting in the later stages of UEFA Champions League is very bleak and this could be the final El Clasico match of the 2019-20 season.
October last year, in the first El Clasico sans a Lionel Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo (in almost 11 years), a certain Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick to sink Real 5-1 in a La Liga match at Camp Nou.
And now, Messi's Barca are looking to complete a league double against their eternal rivals. In fact, Barca are looking to extend their rather brilliant record at Real's home.
All You Need To Know About The Match
Match: Real Madrid Vs Barcelona, La Liga round 26
Date: February 3 (Sunday)
Time: 1:15 AM IST
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid
TV Guide: Sony Pictures Network
Live Streaming: SonyLiv, Facebook Watch, Jio TV
League Standings
Real Madrid: 3rd after 15 matches with 48 points (15 wins, three draws and seven defeats with a goal difference of 13)
Barcelona: 1st after 15 matches with 57 points (17 wins, six draws and two defeats with a goal difference of 40)
Head-to-head
They have met each other on 274 previous occasions across all competitions, with Barca winning 114 as compared to Real's 99. There have been 61 draws.
Key Stats
- Messi's 26 goals in the history of this fixture unrivalled. And he is likely to score, after missing out in Wednesday's match.
- Barca have won seven of the last ten league games at the Bernabeu (W7, D1, L2).
- Barca are the most prolific goal-scoring team on the road this season, and have lost only one away match in 12 away fixtures (W-8, D-3, L-1).
- Bernabeu has witnessed an average of 4 goals per match in the last five league meetings with plenty of cards.
Form (Latest first):
Real Madrid: W, L, W, W, W
Barcelona: W, W, D, D, W
Players to watch out for
Vinicius Junior: Real Madrid starlet has impressed one and all, and is expected to play a pivotal role in the match.
Lionel Messi: The superstar missed the opportunity to score in the last meeting, but expect him to hit the ground running from the very outset.
Likely XIs
Real Madrid: Courtois; Cravajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Benzema, Junior
Barcelona: Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Roberto, Burquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Dembele
