Real Madrid and Barcelona meet on Saturday night at the Bernabéu in La Liga in the first Clásico of the 2024/25 season.
Three points separate the pair of fierce rivals at the top of the Spanish table, with Barcelona holding a slight advantage over Madrid in this clash.
A Catalan victory would be a significant statement as Hansi Flick aims to deliver just the club’s second league title since 2019, with the chance to open up a six-point lead over Los Blancos.
However, if Madrid claimed the maximum points, they would move into first place, equal on points with Barça, but ahead with head-to-head tiebreaker criteria.
This is arguably the single most important match in world football and eyes across the planet will be glued to screens as it kicks off in the Spanish capital.
Although it was a role he shared last season with Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior is absolutely Madrid’s main man. The Brazilian has scored or assisted in nine of the club’s ten League games so far and hit the mark in the Champions League on Tuesday when his hat-trick destroyed Borussia Dortmund.
Vinicius returned to his more usual left-wing role against Dortmund, having been used alongside Kylian Mbappe in a front two in the previous four games at home and away. But it was Rodrygo’s involvement that prompted the switch to the left flank and he has been ruled out through injury, suggesting it will be a central position for Vinicius once again.
He will have license to move wherever he is, but his heatmaps in recent games starting as a forward rather than a winger still show him favoring spaces on the left. That will make the Ballon d’Or hopeful Jules Kounde’s problem on Saturday night.
The Barcelona right back occupied a very narrow position against Bayern Munich in the match Champions League on Wednesday in an attempt to limit space in the forward inside channels, where Vinicius is usually at his most dangerous.
Another Brazilian winger scored a Champions League hat-trick in midweek… Raphinha.
The former Leeds United man is flying under Flick, having appeared over the summer to be sacrificed for Euro 2024 hero Nico Williams.
Raphinha has been captaining the side in the absence of the three most senior leaders in the squad and has the most dangerous weapon in football well tucked into his current arsenal: confidence.
Although a central position in his last two La Liga appearances has yielded four assists, it would make sense to see him in a left-wing role at the Bernabeu similar to what he did. filled against Bayern Munich. The reason is Madrid’s right back Lucas Vázquez.
The 33-year-old, who is also likely to wear the Madrid armband as the team’s oldest captain, has been refocused as a full-back in recent seasons but is not a natural defender and could really struggle against someone in so good shape like Raphinha.
It feels too much like Frenkie de Jong or Gavi being thrown back into the starting line-up for this one after a few substitute appearances between them following long-term injuries. De Jong learned this the hard way when 45 minutes of the previous Clásico in April set him back months.
This means that Pedri and Marc Casado will probably continue at the base of Barça’s midfield. The pair, with a combined age of 42, just slightly older than Luka Modric (39), did a great dirty job against Bayern, ensuring the Bavarian giants couldn’t play through the middle.
Although praised for their technical ability, they will have to play against Jude Bellingham. He was Madrid’s match-winner in both Clásicos last season. And while it hasn’t been a sparkling start to 2024/25 for him by these lofty standards, the Englishman is still capable of changing a game in an instant.
Squeeze the space in the areas where Bellingham he likes to operate could frustrate him.
