Barca can’t afford to lose at the Bernabeu

Real Madrid go into the first el clasico of 2014 against archrivals Barcelona as favourites not only to take the three points but more importantly to win the Spanish league title. A win for the home side would take them seven points clear and all but end Barca’s hopes of successfully defending their crown—and with nine games left after this weekend, it would be nearly impossible for Carlo Ancelotti’s men to surrender their advantage. Defeat for Barca would mean that the only side challenging Real in the title race is their rivals from the Spanish capital, Atletico Madrid, who are second on the table, three points adrift of the leaders. Diego Simeone’s team travel to bottom side Real Betis on Sunday and will be favourites to win and move joint top at least for a couple of hours before attention turns to the small matter of Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu-- a game the whole world waits for with anticipation. On one side we have Real Madrid, playing in-front of their home supporters, looking stronger than ever and unbeaten since that 2-1 loss in the league first round clasico in October 2013. And at the other end there is Barca, the reigning Spanish champions, who are going into tomorrow’s game with a hurt ego following recent defeats to Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid. It’s the first clasico of the year, the second of the season, and unlike previous four or five seasons, the pressure will be on the visitors. The stakes are extremely high at this stage of the season, especially for Tata Martino’s men since they can’t afford to drop any points if they still want to have a say in the title race. As it happens whenever these Spanish giants meet, the spotlight is always on the star players, and so once again, it will most likely be turned to Ronaldo and Messi, the two best players in the world. Real Madrid’s Portuguese superstar and reigning world player of the year, Ronaldo seems to be in better form at the moment, having scored 25 goals in the league and 13 in the Champions League, but in the clasico anything can happen. Four-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi, who missed the whole November and December with a hamstring injury, appear to be returning to his top form and comes into this game on the back of netting a hat trick as Barca walloped Ossasuna 7-0 last weekend. However, Real Madrid vs Barcelona is not about just two players—there are other match winners on either side, but whose influence is over shadowed by the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry. You have players like Iniesta, Xavi, Pedro and recently Neymar, who can step up for Barca in case Messi disappears, while Real Madrid’s Ramos, Pepe, Alonso, Benzema and goalkeeper Casillas (I don’t expect him to start) have an idea or two about how to beat their sworn rivals.