Karembeu predicts Real to close title race on Sunday

Real Madrid will go all out to secure the La Liga title with a victory in Sunday’s El Clasico says their former player Christian Karembeu.

The 234th El Clasico will be played at Real’s home ground Santiago Bernabeu and Karembeu feels that advantage, along with the momentum gained by advancing into Champions League semifinals, will spur manager Zinedine Zidane to go all out to win the match.

“I say 2-1 to Real Madrid,” Karembeu responded when asked about the likely victor.

“We are at home and obviously the victory will then help us focus on the Champions League because if we win, we close the championship, we close the title race,” he continued.

Karembeu, who played for Real from 1997 to 2000 and won two Champions League titles with the club, is in Mumbai to host a special El Clasico show for the live television broadcast of the match.

Real Madrid are three points clear at the top of the table and victory on Sunday will give them a comfortable six-point advantage with a game in hand.

They are also set to play the Champions League semifinal against city rivals Atletico Madrid on May 2 and 9, while Barcelona only have the Copa del Rey final on May 27 to worry about.

Karembeu stressed on the point that Real’s crowded fixtures could later derail their La Liga ambitions so they would want to gain maximum points this weekend.

“Knowing that Barcelona could give us some difficulties in the title race, we need to focus on this match because the title is there to be won and we need to make the difference now.

“And then we need to shift focus to the Champions League because it is not going to be easy against Atletico Madrid.

“I think Zinedine will be thinking about that and will try to win the championship very quickly by closing the title race this weekend.”

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