…As Real Madrid host Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu
La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona gear up to lock horns this Saturday when the two sides clash at the Santiago Bernabeu in the much talked about El Clasico encounter.
This season’s edition of the epic fixture between the Spanish Primera Division’s two most successful clubs is a match to watch as the two teams’ star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have split six of the last seven Ballon d’Or titles amongst themselves, aim at entering the history books with two impressive Liga BBVA records.
Barcelona is yet to concede a single goal in La Liga. After eight games, 640 minutes, the Blaugrana is the only side in Europe’s top five leagues to have kept clean sheets in all their league games.
Cristiano Ronaldo has netted a record breaking 15 times in only eight games. That beats what Neymar and Messi have scored this season.
Messi is set to make La Liga history at the Bernabeu this Saturday if he scores a brace.
The Argentine is one goal shy of Telmo Zarra’s record of 251 La Liga goals, and only needs two more to become the highest goal scorer in Spanish Primera Division history.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo is chasing his number 23 hat-trick La Liga record. This will depends on whether the Portuguese ace nets a hat-trick against the Barcelona. If Messi can net a hat-trick in El Clasico, why can’t Ronaldo? The 29-year-old is only one shy of scoring the most number of La Liga hat-tricks by one player, beating the current record held by Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra at 22.
Louis Suarez is set to play his first ever El Clasico. What a stage to debut! Suarez’s four-month ban ends on the October 24, meaning he is eligible to face Los Blancos.
Real Madrid could be missing Gareth Bale as the Welsh star and the world’s most expensive football player looks set to miss out on Saturday’s encounter with a muscle injury.
Barcelona currently sit top of the La Liga table with 22 points from eight matches and are seeking to extend the points. The Blaugrana signed Brazilian playmaker Neymar to fortify the team, while Madrid spent considerably over the summer to make sure they can mount a more meaningful challenge this time around.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has played down the El Clasico, saying the outcome of the game will not decide the title.
“The ideal scenario for us would be if Madrid had zero points and us what we have,” Luis Enrique said. “There is such a long time left in the championship, it will not be decisive. We will go to the Bernabeu to win as we always do, especially in recent times, and to be better than Madrid. That is what we set out to do.”
Real Madrid are hoping to close the gap, as Ancelotti’s side are third on the log with 18 points from eight games. Madrid will be relying on their attacking strength of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Although, Bale might not make the party as he is yet to recover from a waist injury. But, Columbian star James Rodríguez can step into his shoe.
With Bale expected to miss the El Clasico, Real Madrid’s final third, Ronaldo (£80m), Benzema (£30m), and James Rodríguez (£63m), sum up to a total of £173m. Barcelona’s, however, equals an estimated £136.2m, not including La Masia graduate Messi, as the Blaugrana forked out £71.2m and £65m for Neymar and Suarez, respectively.
In the last 5 game in La Liga, Real Madrid have netted a whopping 25 times, racking up to an impressive 5-goal-per-game ratio. Barcelona, on the other hand, have scored 16, equalling to a 3.2-goal-per-game ratio.
It is important to note that Luis Enrique’s side has seen a red card, a dismissal for Javier Mascherano in Liga BBVA’s opening game. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two sides with the lowest number of yellow cards in La Liga, this season, after eight games, with only 12 bookings.
Besides Luis Suarez, this El Clasico could also see the likes of Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Ivan Rakitic and Jeremy Mathieu make their first appearances in arguably the biggest game on the planet.
However, if history were to repeat itself, you can expect this disciplinary record to go out the window when the two trade tackles.
As usual, football fans are looking out for a thrilling encounter between two of the biggest sides in world football.
@AnthonyNlebem
Anthony Nlebem
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