El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid may decide the La Liga title in Spain

While every El Clasico match is full of its own storylines, various battles to watch out for, player arcs and emotions, the latest edition of the hottest fixture in world football could have widespread ramifications on both clubs’ respective seasons.

The upcoming El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, set to be played at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, may end up deciding the league title in Spain. The Clasico which hardly needs any introduction regarding its intensity, history, heritage, and importance will be fraught with extra significance this time around with a title on the line.

For starters, a win for Barcelona will help them open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table over their arch-rivals. With 12 matches still to go after this mega clash, such a lead is almost damning and will almost confirm Xavi’s side chances as the winners in Spain for the first time since the 2018/19 season under Ernesto Valverde.

On the other hand, a win for Real Madrid will allow Los Blancos to crawl themselves back into title contention and with a six-point lead to overturn with 12 games remaining, anything could happen. In fact, a defeat here will make every subsequent game a psychological banana peel for Barcelona who have struggled to open up a lead as big as the one they currently possess over Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Los Blancos are making the trip to Camp Nou overjoyed after defeating Liverpool 1-0 on Wednesday to seal their place in the Champions League quarterfinals with an aggregate 6-2 victory. Vinicius Jr, who his manager Ancelotti thinks ‘is the best in the world’ was excellent in that game once again and created the only goal of the match for Karim Benzema to finish.

Benzema is also available to start here after shaking off a light knock following the clash with Liverpool but coming back to Vinicius Jr, his battle with Ronald Araujo on the left flank is expected to take the highlight reel once again.

The Brazilian winger is almost unstoppable on his day, but so far, Araujo has not only nullified him every time he has come up against Vinicius, but has also troubled him both physically and psychologically, which might further take a toll on him.

“He’s struggled a bit more in recent games, but Viní Jr. is always Viní Jr,” Ancelotti said on Saturday, according to the Real’s website.

“His mobility gives us so much, I’m thinking about putting him on the right because he’s capable, but we’ll see. That freedom and playing without a fixed reference point could be crucial.

“It’s another problem for the defenders. I’m kidding about him playing on the right … he’ll be on the left but with greater freedom.”

While Real Madrid will enjoy having Benzema back in their squad, Barcelona will continue to miss out on the services of two of their most crucial players in Ousmane Dembele and Pedri. Both players were initially targetting their returns around the league Clasico, but have now been sidelined as the team management wants to take extra caution.

Barcelona have already been able to defeat Real Madrid twice this year. They had the last laugh over their arch-rivals in the Spanish Super Cup final in Riyadh in January where the Blaugrana completely dominated the contest and put out a footballing lesson for Ancelotti.

They also beat Real Madrid 1-0 in their own backyard at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month and the second leg of the Copa Del Rey fixture will be played at the Camp Nou on April 5.

However, the last league Clasico between both sides was won by Real Madrid who secured a 3-1 triumph over Barcelona at the Bernabeu back in October.

Barça coach Xavi downplayed any notion that his team was the favorite to win Sunday’s game.

“They’re strong. Very strong, recently,” Xavi said, according to Barça’s website. “They’re physically much better than they were in January. I’m sure they’ll put our defense under pressure.”

“This Madrid team is the European champion and they won the last league comfortably. It’ll be a tight game, and I say we have a 50% chance.”

The mood around Barcelona has also been soiled by the developments surrounding the Negreira case as investigation continues in order to determine whether the Catalan club did pay large sums to influence refereeing decisions or not. It has also taken a toll on the diplomatic relations between Barcelona and Real Madrid, who were otherwise united on the common goal surrounding the formation of the European Super League. As a result, Madrid president Florentino Perez will not travel to the Camp Nou to be in attendance with his Barcelona counterparts.

As controversies rage on and a tense atmosphere is expected in Barcelona, the hope for both sides is to play out their frustrations and emotions on the pitch and set a new episode in the constantly evolving saga that is El Clasico.