Xavi Hernandez during the Copa del Rey match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 2, 2023 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Barcelona look to put LaLiga to bed against Real Madrid
Federico Valverde battles for the ball with Sergio Busquets during Copa Del Rey match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 02, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Barcelona head into the latest edition of El Clasico with the opportunity to make a definitive statement in their efforts to win LaLiga. A win over Real Madrid would put the Catalan side 12 points ahead of Los Blancos, which would be an almost insurmountable lead for their biggest rivals to overcome.
Xavi Hernandez will have to do so without Pedri, however, as the young midfielder was unable to overcome the injury he suffered in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs against Manchester United. Pedri was on track to feature as he had returned to training during the week. But he didn’t have the best sensations on Friday and had to leave training early.
While a win would all but wrap up the league for Barcelona, Xavi isn’t seeing it that way — at least not publicly.
“This game could be decisive if we win it, but it’s not like a grand final.” Xavi said. “If we win it would build up a huge difference, but it wouldn’t decide the league mathematically.
“We know what a big chance this is because it would be such a huge step forward. We are very motivated.”
Barcelona may have a nine-point cushion but they haven’t fared well against Real Madrid at home. The last time they won at the Camp Nou was in 2018 when they won 5-1 with a hat-trick from Luis Suarez. The last time they played at home, Barcelona lost 2-1 with the lone goal scored by Sergio Agüero.
What is in their favor is they beat Real Madrid in their last two meetings. They won 3-1 to claim the Spanish Super Cup and won 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu without Ousmane Dembélé, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.
Lewandowski is back fit and with the game in their stadium, it’s unlikely Barcelona will set up so defensively like they did in the Copa del Rey.
“We always try to press up front,” Xavi said. “In the Super Cup we competed well with the ball and in the Copa del Rey we did without it. If we can do both, we should win, but I suffer when my team doesn’t have the ball. We’re defending well but we need to dominate games more.”
That’s been Barcelona’s weakness throughout the season. They go a goal up and can’t take advantage of their opportunities and end up struggling, with the defense or Marc-Andre ter Stegen saving the result.
In addition to what’s at stake in the league, another storyline heading into the match is the Negreira case. Unsurprisingly, Xavi was asked about it as well.
“They will not destabilize us,” Xavi said. “We are more stable than ever — and they have been trying [to destabilize us] now since Day 1.
“We are completely focused on winning on Sunday and making a big statement in the title race … We are not thinking about anything else.”
One of the match-ups to keep an eye on will be the one involving Ronald Araújo and Vinicius Jr. The Uruguayan will be deployed as the right-back, with the task of keeping the Brazilian at bay. In their last two encounters, Araújo has been able to do just that, which made Real Madrid less threatening.
It’s worth noting Araújo was missing in their first encounter in LaLiga.
It will be interesting to see what Xavi will do if Carlo Ancelotti decides to do something different. Especially if Vinicius Jr.’s influence is impacted by Araújo. If Ancelotti decides to move Vinicius to the left, will Xavi follow suit or trust in Alejandro Balde to contain him?
Barcelona have demonstrated the capacity to hold on to a lead against Real Madrid. Sitting back and defending has never been their strong suit up until recently. In other words, a goal could be enough for Xavi. He could use that lead to play with Madrid’s desperation and try to hit them on the break. Should they go down, it could be a much different story.
Barcelona do have a rather wide margin of error. A loss wouldn’t be the end of the world. But a win would all but ensure LaLiga title and allow Xavi to rotate his squad and keep his team fresh for the final stretch of the season. With everything surrounding the club, in and out of the pitch, a win against Real Madrid would be a much needed breath of fresh air. It would also mark Xavi’s first El Clasico win at the Camp Nou.
Expected Barcelona line up:
Ter Stegen
Araûjo – Koundé – Christensen – Balde
Kessie – Busquets – De Jong – Gavi
Raphinha – Lewandowski
