Barcelona go into the second Clásico of the season in incredible form. The Catalans are unbeaten in 39 games in all competitions, a run which included the 4-0 thrashing of Madrid at the Bernabéu in November. Los Blancos are in decent form themselves, winning 5 in a row since they lost the Madrid derby at the end of February.
Both sides will be at full strength, which means we will be able to enjoy what are probably the two best attacks in world football. Barça have a very settled and successful XI which picks itself, but Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane will have a couple of decisions to make regarding his team.
Zidane cannot afford to make the same mistake as his predecessor Rafa Benítez and is therefore likely to field Casemiro alongside Kroos and Modrić in what looks a more defensive-minded midfield than the unbalanced one that started the previous Clásico.
His other decision will be who is tasked with dealing with the threat of Neymar, as neither Dani Carvajal nor Danilo have been especially convincing in the right-back position for Los Blancos this season.
Barcelona go into the game 10 points ahead of their arch rivals and will be confident of extending that lead here. They will want to put on a show as the Camp Nou pays it’s respects to Johan Cruyff, the main influence behind the Barcelona we know today.
For Madrid, a win would keep their slim hopes of La Liga alive, but they will be more keen to just show that they can compete with Barça as the two sides could meet again in the latter stages of the Champions League.
