The
second El Clásico match of the 2015-2016 La Liga season is scheduled to
take place at the Camp Nou this Saturday, April 2nd as defending
champions FC Barcelona (24-2-4, 76 points) clashes with fierce rival and
perennial powerhouse squad Real Madrid CF (20-4-6, 66 points).
Barcelona overpowered Real during their first meeting this season, a
4-0 affair at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Nov. 12th of last year
when Barça team leader Lionel Messi had just come back from a serious knee injury.
It was Messi's frontline partners, Luis Suárez and Neymar, who
delivered the goods that day with the Uruguayan scoring twice at the
11th and 75th minutes while the Brazilian captain netted one at the
35th.
Team captain Andres Iniesta contributed one at the 56th to complete the four-goal haul of head coach Luis Enrique's side.
Los Blancos was still under Rafa Benitez at that time and will now be
parading a new head coach in the person of former Los Vikingos winger
Zinedine Zidane.
In their most recent domestic top flight match, the Blaugrana
successfully extended their undefeated streak to 39 games in all
competitions as they settled for a 2-2 draw against Villarreal CF at the
Estadio El Madrigal on March 20th, as per SkySports.
Barça scored the first two goals of the match courtesy of midfielder
Ivan Rakitic and Neymar at the 20th and 41st minutes, but El Submarino
Amarillo bounced back in the second half with a goal from Congolese
forward Cedric Bakambu at the 57th minute.
The equalizer was made after an unfortunate own goal by Barcelona's
substitute defender Jeremy Mathieu three minutes after the hour mark as
both teams went scoreless the rest of the match.
Meanwhile, Real is coming in the El Clásico with a lot of momentum coming from a four-game winning streak.
Their last match was a 4-0 demolition of contending team Sevilla FC at the Bernabéu also on March 20th, as reported by BBC Sport.
All of Los Blancos' high-profile scorers contributed one goal apiece
in the lopsided victory, namely Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth
Bale, and Jese at the sixth, 64th, 66th, and 86th minutes respectively.
With the win, Real is now only 10 points behind Barça in the overall standings.
The predicted result is a tough 3-2
win for Barcelona. Real is keen on bouncing back from their humiliating
loss during their first meeting this season, but Barcelona will still
prevail with a late goal from one of the MSN Big Three.
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Bravo; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Turan; Messi, Suárez, Neymar
Real Madrid starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Navas; Danilo, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
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