Who makes the combined XI for Real Madrid and Barcelona heading into Matchday 7’s Clasico at the Camp Nou?
Real Madrid and Barcelona both have a lot to prove on Saturday when they face off at 16:00 CET at the Camp Nou in the second Clasico of 2020.
Los Blancos won earlier this year 2-0, but they head into this game in poor form. Not only did they lose 1-0 to Cadiz last weekend, but they had another atrocious first half and lost 3-2 to a less-than-full-strength Shakhtar Donetsk at home on Wednesday.
Let’s take a look at the combined XI for Real Madrid and Barcelona in this Clasico, using players who are expected to start on Saturday.
Real Madrid GK Thibaut Courtois
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but Thibaut Courtois has outperformed him since Fall of last year. So he would get the slight nod over ter Stegen, but I must emphasize that this is very close.
Of course, ter Stegen won’t be playing in El Clasico, so the comparison is to Neto. Courtois is easily clear of him, though Neto is a good backup.
Courtois was last year’s Zamora Trophy winner, leading the league in clean sheet percentage and save percentage. Time after time, he has bailed out Real Madrid this season, too, as Los Blancos could be in much more dire straits without the big Belgian defending the posts.