After all the Champions League quarter-final success and heartbreak – depending on which team you support – it all comes down to this in La Liga. El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona.
A win for Real would effectively decide the title race. A win for Barcelona would bring them level on points and increase the pressure on Zinedine Zidane’s side even though they still have a game in hand. A draw may not help either team’s cause in the long run.
Barcelona are out of the Champions League and this is arguably their last chance to win a major trophy by reeling in their arch-rivals with only six games to go. Just a possible Copa del Rey will not be enough for a club of this stature.
As La Liga enters its final stretch, here’s what Barcelona need to do if they are to beat Real Madrid.
1) Luis Enrique must play four at the back
Barcelona have employed a number of formations this season as Enrique tinkered with the squad based on who he had available. The loss of Aleix Vidal to a season-ending injury threw a spanner in the works and the Catalan club have struggled to find a similar player on the right side.
Enrique has played three at the back to varying degrees of success this season. While the 3-4-3 formation was effective at times, the 3-3-1-3 proved to be chaotic and sometimes detrimental to Barcelona’s defence.
Also read: Barcelona's 3-3-1-3 formation is exciting but also suicidal
The plan to switch to a back three when they have possession and a back four when they lose the ball also failed to work – especially against Juventus in the first leg of the quarter-finals. The Catalan side are much more stable when they play four at the back.
Real Madrid only concentrate 25% of their attacks through the middle channel with 75% of their attacks coming from the flanks – the left being the most commonly used thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo.
A three-man defence would not be ideal as Real could easily exploit the space behind the winger on counter-attacks.
2) Drop Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu to the bench
When Enrique picks his starting lineup for the Clasico, it would be wise to drop Javier Mascherano to the bench. The 32-year-old Argentine has had a poor season and has been responsible for a few lapses in concentration that have led to Barcelona conceding goals this season.
No other outfield player at the club has made more defensive errors than Mascherano this season and it has to do with his shuttling between the roles of a centre-back and a defensive midfielder. When playing as a centre-back, he has picked the wrong moments to abandon his position and step up into the midfield zone to thwart opponents’ attacking moves.
Two of his defensive errors in La Liga led to goals while a third also led to an attempt on goal. The most notable error came against Valencia that allowed Jose Gaya to exploit the space and set up Munir El Haddadi for the finish.
Jeremy Mathieu is another player Enrique may not risk against Real Madrid. The 33-year-old did not make the squad for the second leg against Juventus following a disappointing first leg.
He had afforded Juan Cuadrado too much space to allow him to assist Paulo Dybala while he also offered nothing in attack. Mathieu was also dropped to the bench and did not play a part in Barcelona’s 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad.
3) Sergi Roberto should be deployed as an attacking right-back
Last season Sergi Roberto was the toast of the town as his versatility allowed him to be deployed in as many as seven different positions in Barcelona's lineup. The 25-year-old can play as a midfielder, winger or as a full-back and his tactical intelligence allows him to do just what is necessary.
But at Barcelona, you need a player that can play above and beyond what is required. Roberto’s lack of attacking impetus when he plays as a right-back exposes a flaw in Barcelona’s attack when Lionel Messi drifts inside – there is no support on the right when they lose the ball and Roberto is effectively on his own.
As a result, Roberto puts himself on a short leash and it curbs his attacking instincts to avoid abandoning his position to make marauding runs. Only 14% of Barcelona’s shots come in from the right. It is a stark contrast to Jordi Alba on the other flank who works hard to make runs into the box and it does have a telling effect on the game when Barcelona’s attacking trio are marked out of the game.
Dani Alves was one of their best players for years before his departure to Juventus last summer. Sadly, the club never replaced him and they have paid the price this season. If they are to give Real Madrid something to think about, Roberto’s attacking runs could prompt Marcelo to stay in his own half rather than give Real an advantage in attack.
Of course, this will only work if Barcelona’s right midfielder plays wider than usual to help cover for him or they risk allowing Ronaldo to run riot.
4) Which formation does Barcelona use without Neymar in the team?
The biggest talking point about the Clasico is that Neymar will not feature for the Catalan side this Sunday. The Brazilian forward is currently serving a three-match ban for his sarcastic applauding of the referee when he was sent off in the 2-0 loss to Malaga and the appeal against Neymar’s Clasico ban was also rejected by the Royal Spanish Football Federation's Appeals Committee who upheld the ban.
Enrique would have loved to go with the standard 4-3-3 formation they used in the first Clasico of the season that ended in a 1-1 draw. But it is impossible to replace Neymar with the players he currently has at his disposal and make that formation work.
And remember, Arda Turan is highly doubtful to play a part as he recovers from a groin injury. The Turkish midfielder has scored five goals and grabbed three assists in the position and he will be sorely missed.
As a result, Enrique may opt to go with a 4-3-1-2 formation – something similar to the 4-1-2-1-2 formation he employed against Real Sociedad. This will see Sergio Busquets anchor the midfield with Ivan Rakitic and Andre Gomes on either side of him while Lionel Messi plays in the hole behind the strikers.
Paco Alcacer will have to be played in Neymar’s absence and he would partner Luis Suarez up top. This would give Real’s centre-backs a tough time. If Suarez and Alcacer drift wide to allow Messi to get involved, the likes of Marcelo and Dani Carvajal would be forced to drop back and assist Sergio Ramos and Nacho Fernandez.
Enrique also has a call to make on whether Andres Iniesta plays or not. The Spaniard has come off the bench more often than he has started and only has three assists in the league this season. He is yet to score in the league but remember the standing ovation he received last year?
5) Handling Real Madrid’s set-pieces
If there is one thing that has probably been drilled into everyone's head by now when a team plays Real Madrid, it is that you cannot leave Sergio Ramos unmarked when they win a free-kick or a corner.
The Spaniard has earned the reputation of scoring crucial equalisers or winners deep into injury time and almost always with his head. Real's captain is as slippery as they come when evading his marker and Los Blancos have devised the perfect system to ensure that he has a free header on goal.
The first thing Barcelona have to do is identify the men they should be marking. Enrique's side is not the tallest and only last week Juventus capitalised on that when Mascherano was forced to mark Giorgio Chiellini. The Italian has almost half a foot on Mascherano and easily won the header to score the third goal in the 3-0 win.
It was also Mascherano who was supposed to mark Ramos in the first Clasico and the manner in which he lost the Real defender in the crowd was pitiful. Ideally, Ramos and Ronaldo are the key players to mark as the rest are mainly used as decoys to allow them to get on the end of a cross. We all know how good Toni Kroos is with his delivery.
