Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview

This is arguably the biggest game in world football this weekend.

With events both in and outside the field creating tension between the cities that these teams come from, this will surely be a heated encounter.

Players will be fully focused on the 11 points that separates them.

If Barcelona wins, that would give Real Madrid an almost impossible job to do in terms of retaining their title however a win for Los Blancos could throw the title race wide open.

Real Madrid have been away at the FIFA Club world cup which they predictably won to clinch their fifth trophy of the year.

Los Blancos started the season on a high note with a win over their visitors in the Spanish Super Cup but the momentum has since shifted and Barcelona are currently leading them by 11 points.

Real Madrid have given out points to Levante, Fuenlabrada, and Real Betis at home this season.

This will give Barca confidence that they can win here again as they did last season.

Lionel Messi netted the winning goal in last season’s clash with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and he will be key here as he has outshone his Portuguese counterpart C. Ronaldo this season.

He has netted 14 league goals while Ronaldo has scored just 4.

Messi is also the leading scorer in this fixture with 24 goals.

The Catalans are not just leading the league standings; they are also currently the leading team in terms of recent form as they have collected 20 points from their last 8 games.

They come into this game having not tasted defeat in 23 league games and they have won 20 of those matches.

Regardless of their current form, this game will be considered a must win for Real Madrid.

The last two meetings between these sides ended in wins for Real Madrid.

Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions

Real Madrid

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Real Madrid		1-0		Grêmio	16 Dec, 2017	FIFA Club World Cup
W	Al-Jazira		1-2		Real Madrid	13 Dec, 2017	FIFA Club World Cup
W	Real Madrid		5-0		Sevilla FC	9 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Real Madrid		3-2		Borussia Dortmund	6 Dec, 2017	UEFA Champions League
D	Athletic Bilbao		0-0		Real Madrid	2 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División

Barcelona

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Barcelona		4-0		Deportivo La Coruña	17 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Villarreal		0-2		Barcelona	10 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Barcelona		2-0		Sporting CP	5 Dec, 2017	UEFA Champions League
D	Barcelona		2-2		Celta Vigo	2 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Barcelona		5-0		Murcia	29 Nov, 2017	Spanish Copa del Rey

H2H

LAST FIVE GAMES					DATE	COMPETITION
Real Madrid		2-0		Barcelona	16 Aug, 2017	Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona		1-3		Real Madrid	13 Aug, 2017	Spanish Super Cup
Real Madrid		2-3		Barcelona	30 Jul, 2017	International Champions Cup
Real Madrid		2-3		Barcelona	23 Apr, 2017	Spanish Primera División
Barcelona		1-1		Real Madrid	3 Dec, 2016	Spanish Primera División

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera:

Spanish Primera Table

Spanish Primera Results