everyevery.ng el-clasico-2019 barca vs Real Madrid
The El Clasico is finally here after being postponed twice due to a crisis in Cataluña. Camp Nou will host the first El Clasico of the 2019/20 season. Barcelona have been scoring goals for fun in La Liga this season. They dropped two points in a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad in San Sebastian. The Catalan giants aim to get back to winning ways as they take on Madrid on Wednesday.
The game was originally scheduled for 26 October but was postponed because of fears of civil unrest in Catalonia. Both sides are level on 35 points but Barcelona are topping on goal difference. La Liga made the postponement request because of “exceptional circumstances beyond our control.” More protests were expected in Barcelona on the day of the match.
Both clubs disagreed with calls to switch the game to Madrid. They however agreed to share the same hotel ahead of the El Clasico game. They will also be traveling at the same time two hours before kick-off amid security concerns. The game has been delayed by two months after days of protest took place in Barcelona. Nine Catalan separatist leaders were convicted of sedition over their role in the referendum and jailed accordingly.
Head coach of Real Madrid said: “In games like this you’ve got to produce your best throughout the 90 minutes.” Zidane added that said: “That’s something different for us. We’ve been told that we have to leave together and that’s what we’ll do. He further said “There’s nothing else to explain. The important thing is that the game goes ahead.”
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde added: “I think we could have played the game on the original day and there is no reason why we can’t play the game tomorrow. “It is unlikely in a situation like this that the players will meet before the game, so I probably won’t see Zidane, but I have a lot of respect for him.”
As always, a man to keep an eye on in the home side will be Leo Messi. He has netted 12 goals in the Spanish top-flight so far this season. Los Blancos, on the other hand, almost loss to Valencia at Estadio de Mestalla. Thanks to Karim Benzema’s late goal they eventually shared the spoils with Los Che. Considering that Real Madrid’s performance in the 1-1 draw with Valencia was anything but good, we are tempted to put our money on Ernesto Valverde’s troops.
Luis Suarez could become the third Barcelona player to score 10+ goals against Real Madrid in El clasico. Lionel Messi is toping the chat with (18) goals and then, Cesar Rodriguez with (12) goals. Lionel Messi has failed to score or assist in his last three games against Real Madrid in all competitions. The Argentine has never gone four consecutive appearances against them without scoring or assisting.
Sergi Roberto has provided six assists in eight appearances against Real Madrid in La Liga, with five of those assists resulting in Luis Suarez goals. They have combined for more La Liga goals in El Clasico than any other duo in the 21st century (five).
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has the chance to become the player with the most appearances in El Clasico history. He has 43 appearance already surpassing Manolo Sanchís, Francisco Gento and Xavi (42 each). Zinedine Zidane is unbeaten in his four managerial games at Camp Nou in all competitions (W2 D2). He could become the first Real Madrid manager to remain unbeaten in five away Clasicos.
Hazard, Marcelo, James Rodriguez, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez are all sidelined through injury ahead of the match. Ferland Mendy will be back to cover up for injured Nacho in the side.
Ousmane Dembele remains sidelined while Arthur continues to struggle with injury. Nelson Semedo is back and ready ahead of the game. Jordi Alba could also return to the starting line up following his own recent absence.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, De Jong; Messi, Suarez, Griezmann
Real Madrid possible
starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde; Rodrygo,
Benzema, Vinicius
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