(Football news) Both teams were playing in the Champions League quarterfinals earlier this week. Real Madrid defeated Manchester City to go to the competition’s last four, while Barcelona lost to Paris Saint-Germain in a tough second leg played at home.
Real Madrid is aiming to win both the La Liga and the Champions League this year, and a victory over Barcelona on Sunday night would significantly increase their chances of winning the Spanish Premier League.
In fact, with six games remaining, a victory would see Real Madrid lead by 11 points, and it would be quite tough to envision a reversal from that position; yet, a loss for Los Blancos would close the margin to five points, and it would very much be on in terms of the title race.
Real Madrid have been comfortably the best team in Spain’s top flight this season, boasting a record of 24 wins, six draws and one defeat from 31 matches to collect 78 points, which has left them eight points clear of second-placed Barcelona, while they are the highest goalscorers (67) and have the best defensive record (20).
Ancelotti’s team beat Mallorca 1-0 in the league last weekend to make it four straight successes in Spain’s top flight, before navigating their way past Man City in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid had to concede a lot of possession and opportunities, but they drew 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium to make it 4-4 on aggregate, with penalties therefore required to decide the contest, and the Spanish giants triumphed in the shootout to set up a semi-final with Bayern Munich.
Los Blancos will be bidding to make it a league double over Barcelona this season, having recorded a 2-1 victory when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture back in October.
Barcelona had a different experience in Europe earlier this week, suffering a 4-1 home defeat to PSG in the second leg of their quarter-final to exit the competition with a 6-4 loss overall.
Xavi’s side led 3-2 after the first leg in Paris and were 4-2 ahead on aggregate when Raphinha netted in the 12th minute of Tuesday’s clash, but Ronald Araujo’s red card in the 29th minute changed the match, and the French champions went on to score four times without reply to secure their spot in the semi-finals.
Barcelona’s sole focus will now be on the league, and this is a must-win contest for the Catalan outfit if they are to have any chance of retaining the La Liga title this season.
The defending champions have won eight straight games in the league, including their previous four matches against Mallorca, Atletico Madrid, Las Palmas, and Cadiz. They have not lost since the end of January.
There will be a lot of changes before the upcoming season, and the club will likely have an interesting transfer window. Xavi, despite recent rumors, is still going to step down as head coach this summer.
Barcelona, who have gained 33 points from 15 games and are undefeated thus far in La Liga, have the second-best away record in the league. However, they will be playing Real Madrid, who have also won all of their games at the Bernabeu this season.
Also read: Manchester United will play Coventry in the Semi-finals
