Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: 3 advantages for Los Blancos in El Clasico

Real Madrid aren’t riding a wave of positive momentum heading into El Clasico, but they do have three key advantages over Barcelona.

After losing to Cadiz and Shakhtar Donetsk in the span of a few days, Real Madrid are reeling, and Zinedine Zidane is already feeling a little bit of pressure. Los Blancos need to get things right on Saturday afternoon at the Camp Nou, otherwise there could be trouble for the team.

The good news is that Real Madrid have three advantages that could push them to a positive result on the road against a quietly-impressive Barcelona side.

Real Madrid have the advantage in goal

Thibaut Courtois has been the difference for Real Madrid time after time. The Belgian goalkeeper is one of the world’s best shot-stoppers again, having found his form and confidence during the Fall of the 2019-2020 season.

This season, Courtois has been a bright spot for Real. Even against Shakhtar, he kept the game close with some brave saves in one-on-one situations.

Whereas Barcelona must start their backup keeper, Neto, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen out, Real Madrid will get to start their world-class keeper on Saturday afternoon. That gives them an advantage that could prove to be decisive, because Courtois is capable of swinging the balance of the game single-handedly.

It’s not really a good thing that Real have been bailed out so frequently by Courtois already this season, but especially with the team struggling, having Courtois as a “get out of jail free” card is a huge positive for a game like El Clasico.