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El Clasico is undoubtedly the most anticipated match of the season. Two of the Spanish Giants go head-to-head in search of glory. Every football lover from all around the world eagerly waits for this mega match and the atmosphere between the fans of Los Blancos and the Catalans gets intense.
The hype surrounding this match is completely justified as some of Europe's best players grace the pitch, some in whites while some in red and blue. Barcelona and Real Madrid have met 269 times before this and Barcelona is leading with 111 wins to Real Madrid's 99.
The upcoming El Clasico, scheduled on 12 P.M. Wednesday (GMT) is expected to be a cracker of a match as both teams will try their level best to win the game in their pursuit to clinch the La Liga tile. Here, are the 5 talking points which can determine the result of the fixture:
#5 Zidane will have a fully fit Madrid squad at his disposal; Barcelona has injury issues
It has been a long time since Real Madrid had a fully fit squad before a match. Zidane has been forced to make frequent changes to the playing eleven and his tactics due to injuries to some crucial players of the squad. Among every other Madrid player, Gareth Bale has faced the most number of injury issues and his absence has surely cost the team some valuable points.
However, Bale's return has solved the injury problems of the Los Blancos, and gave positive hopes to the Madridistas before the high pressure match. In the past few months, Bale didn't have a good time at the club but his two cameo performances in the Club World Cup gave positive signs regarding his fitness and form.
On the other hand, Barcelona will miss some key players and Ernesto Valverde has to make some crucial decisions about filling those voids. Samuel Umtiti will be missing the match as he is out for eight weeks with a hamstring injury. He has been the main man in the Barca defence lately and his absence means Valverde has to play either Javier Mascherano or Thomas Vermaelen. Barcelona is bound to miss Umtiti infront of an attacking line comprising Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale. Besides Umtiti, Barcelona will also be travelling to Bernabeu without Paco Alcacer, Rafinha Alcantara and Ousmane Dembele.
A fully fit squad surely gives Real Madrid an upperhand before the game as Zidane will have more options while choosing his playing eleven.
#4 Real Madrid forwards are not in their best of forms
Real Madrid are facing quite a few problems this season - injury to players, Luka Modric's lack of form and a few others. However, their biggest problem this season has been their inability to convert chances into goals. Los Blancos have created 223 chances in La Liga this season, but have scored only 30 of them.
Real Madrid forwards, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo are suffering from a poor run of form in La Liga. Both of them are totally out of touch and squandering chances for fun. Ronaldo has scored just 4 goals from 73 shots in 2017/18 season and currently holds the record of the worst conversion rate in Europe. Karim Benzema has also been highly inconsistent, he missed some clear cut chances and has scored just 2 goals from 11 appearances in La Liga.
Zidane is lacking options upfront as other than Benzema, Borja Mayoral is the only other striker in the squad. However, Mayoral is not yet experienced enough to handle the pressure of the El Clasico. Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez decided not to sign any striker after selling Morata to Chelsea and that decision is heavily affecting Real Madrid this season.
#3 Real Madrid will enjoy the home support at Santiago Bernabeu
The last time these two teams played at the Santiago Bernabeu in the league, Leo Messi stole the show. The image of Leo Messi holding up his shirt after scoring the winner in the injury time, is still fresh in the minds of every football lover.
Inspite of that, Real Madrid will surely enjoy having the huge home support in the Clasico. The cheers of the crowd will boost the morale and confidence of the Real Madrid players, as the shaky Real Madrid team is not at their very best and support from the crowd will give them an advantage.
Under Zidane, the Galacticos have played Barcelona five times and won three of them. They lost one at Bernabeu last season and tied once. The last time the two Spanish Giants faced at the Bernabeu, the fixture ended 2-0 in favour of Real Madrid and the Los Blancos clinched the Spanish Super Cup, thanks to that victory.
However, Madrid will hope that Messi doesn't do something similar like he did in the last league game between these two teams because if something like that happens then there will be no way for Real Madrid to come back on track in the league this season and challenge Barcelona for the title.
#2 Pressure on Real Madrid of potentially losing the title as early as December
Eleven odd points represent a huge difference when it comes to the league title race, even for a strong team like Real Madrid. Although many teams has wiped out an eleven points difference in the past, but it has not been done in the La Liga for the past two decades.
Real Madrid have lost 2 games in the league season, one against Real Betis and the other against Girona. These two losses have cost Real Madrid heavily, as they find themselves 11 points behind leaders Barcelona even before the end of December with a game in hand.
Zidane, and every Madrid player knows this pretty well that they cannot afford to lose games anymore, if they want to challenge Barcelona for the title. A loss in the El Clasico will mean that Barcelona will gain a lead of 14 points.
A trail of 14 points with just 22 games remaining in the 2017/18 season will potentially throw Real Madrid out of the title race, even before Christmas. Even a draw in this game will help Barcelona maintain the 11 point lead. So, this match is a must-win game for the Los Blancos.
The pressure of all the 3 points from the Clasico may prove too hot for the defending champions to handle.
#1 Barcelona has been consistent under Ernesto Valverde this season
The La Liga points table clearly reflects how these two teams have been playing this season. The Blaugranas have lost just 6 points out of possible 48 and are seated comfortably at the top of the table. On the other hand, Real Madrid have suffered two unexpected losses, drew four and are slaundering in the fourth position.
While Real Madrid have seen many problems hampering their overall quality of play, Barcelona have been brilliant and consistent this season. Obviously Lionel Messi has been the main man for Barcelona and he has been well supported by Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Paulinho and others. Coming to Paulinho, he has added a new dimension in Barcelona's style of play. He is an excellent box-to-box midfielder and has already silenced his critics by scoring 6 goals in the league this season.
Lionel Messi has been the best player in the history of El Clasico. He has scored 16 goals in this mega-match and 8 of them came in the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid players will hope that Messi has a rare bad day at the office on 23rd December, otherwise he can prove to be the deciding factor in the game.
Adding to Barcelona's advantages, Luis Suarez has regained his form. The Uruguayan striker has scored 5 goals in his last 6 games. He has also been a problem for Real Madrid defence for the past three seasons. Everyone remembers his brace when Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4-0 a couple of seasons back.
