Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine vs. Barcelona on Matchday 30

There are currently three points separating the top three teams in La Liga. Atletico Madrid sit in first place with 66 points, though their hold on first is tenuous now. Barcelona are just one point behind them with 65. And Real Madrid can leapfrog the Catalans this Saturday night by beating their rivals for a third straight time, as Los Blancos are currently third with 63 points.

Real Madrid have owned Barcelona in the last two Clasicos, but La Blaugrana have become a lot stronger than they were the first time Real faced them this season. Lionel Messi is the league’s leading scorer, while Ousmane Dembele is finding health and form. The young midfield duo of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong is now a strength of the team, and that may overcome Barça’s defensive question marks.

Los Blancos know they need to win this game in order to win the league. And they know they will be tested. Here are five players on Real Madrid who must shine this weekend against Barça.

CB Eder Militao

Eder Militao was one of the top center backs across all the first leg matches in the Champions League quarterfinals. He more than held his own and recorded one tackle and three interceptions, per WhoScored.com, against the Reds. Last weekend, he had a whopping four interceptions in a clean sheet victory over Eibar.

But Barcelona’s front three will be an even tougher task for the center back partnership of Militao and Nacho Fernandez. The former of the two players will be tested the most. Can Militao be perfect positionally against Lionel Messi? Can he avoid the little mistakes that have burned him this season, even against Liverpool on their sole goal? That’s the key for the talented defender, because Messi demands perfection from any defender he faces.

CB Nacho Fernandez

We must also discuss Nacho, who was strong again this past Tuesday vs. Liverpool. Nacho has been one of La Liga’s better center backs this season, without question. He has become a major asset to the Real Madrid defense – and for more than just his versatility. Nacho is a legitimate starting-caliber center back, even at a club like Real. He deserves that praise for what he has done this season.

Nacho will need to be a leader at the back against Barcelona. He must read every movement of Messi and the other forwards. He must help against Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann if needed. And he must lead Real’s build-up play just as Sergio Ramos has often done in Clasicos.

CF Karim Benzema

Although Karim Benzema did not score against Liverpool, which broke up an incredible streak of seven straight matches with a goal, the La Liga Player of the Month for March did make his presence felt as a top performer for what he did off the ball. Madridistas certainly noticed the work he put in to help create Vinicius Junior’s second goal.

Benzema may have to put in another shift like that against Barcelona with a lot of running and creativity. Barcelona’s back line looks vulnerable to a cerebral assassin like the French No. 9, whose big-game experience and clinical finishing could lend themselves to another great day at the office. The winner may not come from Benzema’s boot, but it could come from his brain.

RB Lucas Vazquez

Lucas Vazquez has embodied what it means to be the “next man up” this season. And once again, Real Madrid will be without world-class right back Dani Carvajal, meaning Vazquez will start on the right-hand side of the defense in yet another big game. He may move into a slightly more attacking role if Zinedine Zidane picks a back four, but every indication is that he will stick with the back four that succeeded at mid-week vs. Liverpool.

There can be no mistakes made by Vazquez this Saturday, whether he’s up against Griezmann or Dembele. Vazquez plays hard, but he also must play smart on Matchday 30 against a Barcelona attack that can be electrifying when they are in the mood.

DM Casemiro

Four of the five players on this list are defensive players, and that’s not by accident. Barcelona have scored 68 goals this season, which is 17 more than Atleti and Real in second place. They are quite literally the only team averaging two goals per game in La Liga, and they are averaging more than two per contest.

So Real’s defense must be tight. And they are up against it without three of their four starters, including the world-class pairing of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos that helped hold Barça to just one goal in the last three Clasicos under Zidane.

Casemiro is the best defensive midfielder in the world. He had eight tackles against Liverpool. And he’s the one guy who can mitigate Messi’s effectiveness, which he has done in the past. Saturday will be a big match for him. If he can play lockdown defense, the industrious No. 6 will probably seal another vital Clasico win for Los Merengues.