Real Madrid and Barcelona will renew their rivalry on Saturday afternoon at the Camp Nou, and Los Blancos have a lot of questions to answer this week.
It has been an eventful month of October for Real Madrid thus far, and that’s not a good thing. After losing to Cadiz last weekend 1-0 when they underestimate their opponent with a suboptimal starting XI, Real turned in an even worse performance in the Champions League, losing 3-2 to a severely depleted Shakhtar Donetsk side.
Real Madrid now face a crucial Clasico on Saturday against Barcelona on the road. If they can’t get a positive result, the frenzy will truly begin.
To avoid that happening, these five players must be excellent this weekend for Los Merengues.
Real Madrid CB Raphael Varane
Raphael Varane put on a masterclass in the last Clasico, shutting down the threat Barcelona’s attackers carried. La Blaugrana have players who can make brilliant runs to catch a defense off guard, but Varane snuffed them all out.
However, Varane is not coming off a strong performance against Shakhtar Donetsk. Once again, he was shaky in the Champions League without Sergio Ramos by his side, which means the questions about Varane’s leadership remain.
But Varane never hides from criticism. He answers the call and bounces back. Look for him to have a great performance against Barcelona in a game where the microscope will be focused squarely on Ramos and himself.