Chance for Barca to lay down the marker Barcelona want to seal Griezmann deal in January
Catalans will look to widen the gap to 14 points over archrivals Real Madrid by taming them on their home turf
BARCELONA: Real Madrid looked poised to sweep Barcelona away in La Liga after beating them so comprehensively in the Spanish Super Cup in August yet by the end of Saturday’s El Clasico they could be a remarkable 14 points behind their bitter rivals.
Coach Zinedine Zidane has overseen Real’s worst run of results in the league in nine seasons and his side go into Saturday’s encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu sitting fourth in the standings, 11 points adrift of Barcelona albeit having played one game fewer.
It is a scenario few could have foreseen after Real won a Liga and Champions League double last term and began this season so convincingly.
Seemingly the only positive Real will take onto the pitch on Saturday is that they are still world champions after retaining the Club World Cup last weekend with victory against Gremio in the final.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde looked in a vulnerable position in August after the resounding 5-1 aggregate defeat to Real so soon after succeeding Luis Enrique, especially with Brazil forward Neymar having left for Paris St Germain.
Yet the Spaniard has moulded the team into a highly resilient outfit who are unbeaten in their last 24 games in all competitions.
SITTING PRETTY
The Catalans are six points clear of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who visit Espanyol on Friday.
“After losing the Super Cup we knew that we had to work as hard as ever and all follow Valverde, who I think has started to leave his stamp on the team,” Barca goalkeeper Marcandre ter Stegen told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“He has been watching us for a long time and he knew what he needed to do to improve us. That vision has served us well, we are
Goals very good defensively and we need to keep that up, or improve it, for the rest of the season so we can stay up there.”
Barca captain Andres Iniesta said his side had erased the humbling 3-1 and 2-0 defeats to Real in the Super Cup from their memories but he does not think his side’s big lead in the standings will have much bearing on the pitch on Saturday.
“That is in the past, we’re in another competition and in a different moment. It’s a completely different game and nothing to do with how we were back then,” Iniesta told Marca. Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata, with the latter scoring 15 league goals from just 14 starts. They were all allowed to leave the Bernabeu. Giving youth a chance is a bold and commendable policy that could have immense implications for Zidane in years to come, but the youngsters have amassed just 11 La Liga starts between them this term. The Frenchman has only scored two goals in 11 league appearances for Madrid this season but he has the ability to light up in big games and this is his chance to do so again. The Welshman is playing for his future. Bale returned after his latest injury layoff to help Madrid win the Club World Cup. Against Barcelona, he will need to make the most of the minutes he gets. The
Uruguayan has rediscovered his scoring touch at just the right time for Barcelona. After scoring only three times in the first 11 matches, Suarez has struck six goals in his last five league games. The left-back has flourished going forward into the hole that Neymar used to occupy. The Spaniard has combined well with Messi to weave together shortpasses and unlock packed defences.
“We know
we have to play well, but it won't change anything. I'm sure it'll be the most difficult game of season, Barca-madrid games always are. They're great, but they're always difficult.”
Real manager PARIS: Barcelona are making moves to bring Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann to the Catalan capital while Manchester City are eyeing Alexis Sanchez as clubs around Europe prepare for the January transfer window.
The winter window opens at one minute past midnight on January 1, but Barca are looking for a belated Christmas present in the France international.
Both players will likely move in the summer but deals could be struck in January, with Sanchez holding out for a reported £400,000 per week deal from the runaway Premier League leaders when his contract runs out at the end of the season.
Mundo Deportivo claimed Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has had dinner with Griezmann’s parents and sister, who manages the player’s affairs, and the club are looking to tie him down to a deal that would see him move in the summer.
Not even Atletico’s complaint to FIFA about Barca’s public pursual of their star is likely to stop the move from happening.