Barcelona will host Real Madrid on Sunday in the standout fixture of the European football weekend. If the Catalan side avoid defeat, they will clinch the Spanish league title ahead of schedule.
The match kicks off at 22:00 Moscow time. Barcelona lead the La Liga table with 88 points, while Real Madrid sit second, 11 points adrift. In the reverse fixture, Los Blancos won 2-1, but Barcelona triumphed 3-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final earlier this season.
Ahead of the game, Real Madrid have been rocked by a series of internal controversies. Early in the week, reports emerged that several players were unhappy with the preferential treatment given to top scorer Kylian Mbappé. During his recovery from injury, the French forward traveled to Italy with his girlfriend, which reportedly angered the squad. It later emerged that Mbappé had clashed with a member of the coaching staff, and head coach Álvaro Arbeloa is set to leave the Frenchman out of the starting lineup despite his return to fitness. Fans have launched a petition urging the club to sell Mbappé, which has already gathered over 10 million signatures. The atmosphere within the squad has been severely affected.
Further turmoil unfolded when Spanish newspaper Marca reported that midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni had a physical altercation during training. AS added that Valverde lost consciousness in the fight and had to leave the training ground in a wheelchair. Real Madrid conducted an internal investigation and fined both players €500,000. Valverde was later diagnosed with a concussion after a medical examination and will miss the Clásico. Both players acknowledged the dispute on social media and accepted the sanctions, though Valverde denied that any physical violence occurred.
Real Madrid now face the prospect of ending the season without a single trophy. Their primary motivation remains preventing Barcelona from securing the league title on their own turf in the Clásico.
**Clásico History**
According to Transfermarkt, Sunday’s encounter will be the 264th official Clásico. Real Madrid lead the head-to-head with 107 wins to Barcelona’s 105, while 51 matches have ended in draws. Lionel Messi is the all-time top scorer in the fixture with 26 goals.
Real Madrid have won La Liga 36 times, more than any other club. Barcelona have 28 titles, with Atlético Madrid third on 11.