A lot on the line for both sides in Tuesday's Clasico
Tuesday marks the beginning of a crucial week for Real Madrid, whose title aspirations could be defined in three different competitions. The second leg of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona will decide a spot in the final March 18.
The 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg hurt Madrid’s chances of advancing to its second final in three years. ESPN's Soccer Power Index gives Real Madrid only a 36.3 percent chance of reaching the final.
Real Madrid has lost only once in the past six meetings, including two wins over the Catalan club. In his coaching career, Jose Mourinho has only one victory in the Camp Nou, a 2-1 win last year that decided La Liga in favor of Madrid.
Then Sunday, the two teams meet again in La Liga -- a competition that is almost decided -- with first-place Barcelona leading third-place Real Madrid by 16 points. A loss by Los Merengues would shut the door for good on any title hopes.
Finally, on March 5, Real Madrid will travel to face Manchester United for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Madrid maintains hope of winning its 10th European Cup after the 1-1 draw in the first leg.
As always when these two clubs face off, all eyes will be on the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. Messi has 17 goals in 23 career Clasicos -- one shy of the record held by Alfredo Di Stefano -- but he has gone goalless in three of the past six meetings.
Ronaldo, with 10 goals in 20 Clasicos, is coming off his first goalless match against Barcelona since December 2011 (seven Clasicos ago). Both players have been in exceptional form in 2013. In 12 matches with their respective clubs, each has 14 goals (Messi has five assists and Ronaldo has two). Cristiano has five multigoal games to Messi’s two.
In order to keep its hopes alive for a second treble in five years, Barcelona will have to secure its leaky defense. The club has not had a clean sheet in its past 11 games, and the 28 goals it has conceded in La Liga are the highest total for the club at this stage of the season since 2003-04.
In league play, goalkeeper Victor Valdes has a save percentage of 65 percent, the fourth-lowest of all keepers in La Liga. Madrid’s goalkeeper, Diego Lopez, is even worse with a save percentage of just 63 percent.
To comment, you must be a registered user. Please Sign In or Register