Sunday evening could well be yet another celebration for Hansi Flick, his Barcelona squad and culers inside and outside of Camp Nou.
Should the Catalans beat Real Madrid, or even draw, they will win the league title, and surely there can be no finer way to do so than by defeating your fiercest rivals and opening up a 14-point gap in the process.
A Los Blancos side, let’s not forget, who can boast the talents of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and many others, and who, in the time that
Flick has been at Barcelona, haven’t won a single thing. Zip, zero, nada.
By contrast, the Blaugranes have already won four titles in the same time frame – La Liga and the Copa del Rey in 2024/25, as well as the 2025 and 2026 Spanish Super Cups.
Not only would a Barca league win be a damning indictment as to just how badly things are going in the white half of Madrid, but it would also again emphasise that playing such a high-risk, high-reward game is still the way to go under this manager.
Sure, there have been hiccups along the way, but you can’t really argue with five trophies in two seasons, even if the big one (Champions League) still hasn’t been landed as yet.
Mbappe may well be missing on Sunday night as he struggles for match fitness, and though it’s understood that Madrid are doing everything to ensure that Thibaut Courtois is available, the match may also come too quickly for the Belgian stopper.
The French striker has apparently clashed with teammates ahead of the game, and all isn’t well behind the scenes, which could also play right into Barca’s hands.
Raphinha may or may not be risked for the hosts, though one gets the feeling that wild horses wouldn’t stop the Brazilian from at least playing some part in the match.
Although Bellingham silenced the Estadio Lluis Companys some while back with his last-minute, long-range effort to win that Clasico, and the Englishman was also decisive in the clash earlier this season, Barca’s midfield have got his number, and we should expect that his influence will be diluted once again as a result.
What will be most interesting is to see just how up for the game Real’s players are, given that they’ll only be delaying the inevitable if they were somehow able to walk away from Camp Nou with the three points.
With Flick intent on keeping the pressure on teams, particularly when they’re at their most vulnerable, don’t be at all surprised if the game is another goal fest.
In the last 10 Clasicos in all competitions, at least three goals have been scored in every game, with Barca having scored three themselves in five of the last six.
There’s also the carrot for Flick and his squad to draw level with Madrid and make it 106 wins each in the fixture; Real currently having the edge in the all-time record by virtue of one extra victory.
Let’s hope it’s a special result in what will be a special atmosphere.
