Barcelona to Settle Matters Early in 'El Clásico'

League leaders and defending champions Barcelona are looking to seal the Clásico against their traditional rivals Real Madrid today in the tenth round of La Liga, thereby distancing themselves from the title race. For weeks, the Catalan club has eagerly anticipated the Clásico as an opportunity to extend their lead over the Royal Club to a full nine points. However, recent turmoil ahead of the highly anticipated match at Camp Nou has complicated the picture for Spain’s champions, led by German coach Hansi Flick, after they suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday in Paris, falling 4-2 to French side Paris Saint-Germain in the third round of the UEFA Champions League.

Conversely, Real Madrid have won four consecutive matches, the latest being a 4-1 thrashing of German side RB Leipzig on Wednesday in the prestigious continental competition. For the first time since the arrival of Portuguese manager José Mourinho this summer, the team appears to be functioning as a cohesive unit under his second stint in charge.

Despite this, the odds still favor Flick. With Brazilian international winger Raphinha regaining his form and young winger Lamine Yamal shining brightly, Barcelona will enter the match confident in their ability to build on their six-point advantage over third-placed Real Madrid. The Clásico often serves as a turning point in the season. Last season, Real Madrid won the first encounter against Barcelona, but the angry reaction of Brazilian international winger Vinícius Júnior after being substituted exposed the fragility of then-manager Xabi Alonso’s early tenure. The Basque manager was sacked just over two months later, while his successor and compatriot Álvaro Abelló failed to prevent Real Madrid from ending a second consecutive season without winning any major trophy, whereas Barcelona retained the Spanish title with ease.

Vinícius will miss today’s match due to suspension. Regardless of his recent form, his absence could benefit Real Madrid by giving Mourinho clearer options. The Spanish newspaper AS wrote: “Vinícius’s four-match ban has been viewed by Real Madrid more as a solution than a problem.” Mourinho has often relied on his star players whenever they were available, despite the difficulties this creates in finding a balanced tactical approach and achieving harmony between attack and defense.

Record-signing Ivory Coast international Youssouf Fofana, who cost 140 million euros ($157 million), is providing greater defensive contribution and has begun to find his attacking rhythm, which may encourage Mourinho to rely on the promising player against Barcelona. Another alternative is deploying an additional midfielder to disrupt Barcelona’s fluid attacking style, a strategy in which Mourinho has long excelled, although Paris Saint-Germain demonstrated that the best way to defeat Barcelona is to attack them directly.

Despite Real Madrid’s recent improvement in results, Mourinho emphasized that “confidence does not exist” in Clásico matches. On Wednesday, he said: “It is not a match like any other... We lose 24 hours of rest compared to Barcelona,” referring to the Catalan club’s continental match on Tuesday, while the Royal Club played on Wednesday.

Barcelona, meanwhile, has its own problems, particularly with multiple injuries in the defensive line. Eric García and Danish defender Andreas Christensen are absent from the squad, while there are doubts about the availability of French defender Jules Koundé. Midfielder Dani Olmo is also sidelined due to injury.

In addition, the Catalan side conceded four goals to Paris Saint-Germain, underscoring that it has yet to find a solution to its chronic defensive problems under Flick, which are partly attributable to the deployment of a high defensive line.