Real Madrid host Barcelona as the most crucial match of the season is upon us.
The Whites are on a run of three winless games while Barcelona come into this game after reclaiming their top spot from Real Madrid and have a two point cushion over their arch rivals.
It is a must-win game for Real Madrid because a loss here means chasing Barcelona with 5 a point gap with just 11 league games to go. Real Madrid needs to go all out and win this game to save their season and win their fans back after a horrible showing against Manchester City.
Los Blancos will hopefully revive the Juanito spirit and make sure Barcelona feel that “Ninety minutes at the Bernabeu is a very long time”.
What are your predictions for the Clasico and why?
Kevin Parvizi
Prediction:
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
Call me an optimist, but I think Real Madrid turn it up and play to their full potential on Sunday night in front of the home fans. The atmosphere will be conducive to a display full of heart, with the likes of Karim Benzema, Isco, and Toni Kroos leading the charge in the attack. Real have the talent in the attacking end, and they’ll use it fully. Vinicius Junior will have a Man of the Match performance as Los Blancos win 2-1.
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Nithanth Ravindran
Prediction:
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona
There’s no tactical reason for this prediction. The team is going through a bad patch. Los Blancos haven’t won an El Clasico at the Bernabeu in La Liga since 2014. Everything seems to be completely against Madrid right now.
But that’s exactly why there’s still hope for Madridistas. This club has proved it many times before, that even when the chips are down, even when things are against us, even when we seem completely done, we can still win and it’s that ability that I am betting on for this game.
Ali Malik
Prediction:
Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Feeling highly skeptical, I thought Hazard’s return would give us a great boost for the rest of the season and that we had done well to survive without him. However with him gone, and the team looking jaded I think we’ve run out of gas both physically and mentally.
A lot of Barcelona players, most notably Messi, relish this match and they are in a better place right now compared to us so I expect them to be the positive team here and us to be the ones suffering. I think it’s time to take hard decisions and move on from a large list of senior player who are lacking the requisite ambition and hunger to help us compete in difficult matches over a full season.
Ali Al-Hassan
Prediction:
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona
It’s a very bold prediction but that’s exactly what Real Madrid need to be for this match. We’re in a rough patch where a lot of little things are going wrong and it’s hard to overturn it. However, a win in a game like this can turn our season around and give the team much-needed breathing space. I think we’ll see a formation change from Zidane on Sunday night. Either way, I think Real Madrid will win this time around, but it’ll definitely be a nail biter!
Yasheel Vyas
Prediction:
Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona
Real Madrid are going through a bad patch of form and the defeat to Manchester City will still be fresh in players’ minds. This is the same squad which was the best defence in Europe just a few games ago and now we are back chasing Barcelona in the league and have a mountain to climb to get through the next round of Champions League. What I have learnt over the years is there are no favourites for the Clasico.
Despite Los Blancos going through this bad patch the team does turn up for these games. Our recent record at Bernabeu in Clasicos has been abysmal but I fully expect the team to go all guns blazing and grab a point at least.
It won’t be as cagey as last time at Camp Nou and Zinedine Zidane‘s record has been pretty good in big games. If we get Vinicius and Bale/Vazquez going on the counter we can very well defeat this Barcelona side and take our top spot back from them.
Right now the team is looking a bit nervy in defence while defending and given we go against Quique Setién side we’ll probably be defending for the most part. I still expect Real Madrid to run away with the league title as I predicted it at the start of the season and a win in this game will be crucial for it.