Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Combined XI: Surprises in the attack?

Goalkeeper

Real Madrid GK Thibaut Courtois

This is the most controversial one. Both Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois are top goalkeepers and have been playing really well for the respective sides. But what separates Courtois from Ter Stegen is his ability to cover a large part of the goal to deny the opponent. Apart from this, Courtois has been in splendid form lately and has stepped up in various crucial games. So, I think that Courtois will be the better of the two.

Defenders

Real Madrid RB Dani Carvajal

The Spanish right-back is available for the game after recovering from a recent injury. This selection is obvious. There is no one of the two teams who is better than Carvajal. He is great defensively, helps in attack from the wings, and is inarguably one of the best right-backs in the world at the moment. So, I don’t think that there needs to be any explanation as to why I chose him over the others.

Barcelona CB Gerard Pique

The center-back has been a great player for the past few years now. He is spot on with the tackles and is always dominating in the air. The reason why I chose him over Eder Militao (who has been in an excellent form lately) is because of the experience the Spaniard holds and because of the attacking threat he offers (that Militao doesn’t). He was the only one who managed to get on the scoresheet for FC Barcelona in the midweek fixture against Dynamo Kyiv.

Real Madrid CB David Alaba

Many questioned the signing of the Austrian at the start of the season and Alaba has done everything in his power to prove them wrong. The 29-year-old has played some great games for Real Madrid and has impressed everybody with some stunning displays. He has played at Left-back and Center-back positions and he definitely deserves to be on this list. I don’t think any further reasoning is required, especially with Ronald Araujo missing the game.

Real Madrid LB Ferland Mendy

The Frenchman has recovered from the long injury and is too good. He had an impressive display against Shakhtar Donetsk in the midweek clash. He was spot-on defensively, fast on counter-attacks, and coped up really well with the pressing. I’ll be honest, despite playing a great game, I would have chosen Jordi Alba over him. Alba has always been a great Left-back with the required pace and ability to attack. Attack from the wings is something that Mendy lacks.

Talking statistics, as per WhoScored.com, Ferland Mendy has scored only two goals in 40 games (2020-21 season), failing to register even a single assist. Jordi Alba on the contrary has scored 3 goals with 7 assists in 42 games. In modern football, it is very important for any team to have attacking full-backs. So, since Jordi Alba has the edge over Ferland Mendy, he would have been the better pick. But, with him being injured, Ferland Mendy has made it to the list.