Barcelona welcome Real Madrid to the Nou Camp tonight in what’s some of the eagerly-anticipated El Clasico showdowns in recent memory.
Barcelona have been presented with a rare opportunity to clinch the La Liga title whilst playing against their fierce rivals, with Hansi Flick’s men needing to avoid defeat as a way to claim the league title for the twenty ninth time of their history.
Not since 1929, when La Liga was founded 97 years ago, has the destination of the title been settled directly in an El Clasico game.
The house side are currently sat 11 points clear of Real Madrid on the La Liga summit with just 4 matches to go within the season.
Whilst victory for Madrid would only likely delay Barcelona’s inevitable league coronation, Los Blancos will probably be eager to avoid the ignominy of losing the title on the Nou Camp.
Such a scenario would cap off what has, at times, been a calamitous season for Madrid, who’re staring down the prospect of going a second consecutive season and not using a trophy.
Where to observe Barcelona vs Real Madrid on TV
Barcelona vs Real Madrid will probably be shown live within the UK on Premier Sports 1, with kick-off set for 8pm BST.
Those wishing to observe the match, but don’t currently have a Premier Sports subscription, can achieve this by signing up here.
Available to stream through the likes of Sky, Virgin, Amazon Prime and directly through their app, Premier Sport also boasts rights to Scottish football.
Team news
Barcelona could have to get the job refrained from star player Lamine Yamal, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury picked up within the win over Celta Vigo last month.
The 18-year-old is, nevertheless, expected to be fit enough to take his place within the Spain squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Why Barcelona will look somewhat different tonight
The emblem of Barcelona’s usual shirt sponsor, Spotify, will probably be replaced with the signature symbol of pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo for this evening’s clash.
The move is a component of a marketing campaign between Barcelona and Spotify, which sees the branding of renowned artists appear on the front of their iconic blaugrana shirts for his or her games against Real Madrid.
Olivia is the eighth – and youngest – musical heavyweight to have featured on Barca’s shirt, following on from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Drake and Coldplay.
Madrid may be without their superstar player, with Kylian Mbappe facing a late fitness check to find out his availability.
The injury to the Frenchman, who picked up the muscle criticism against Real Betis back in April, has caused an almighty row back in Spain.
Madrid fans are unhappy that Mbappe flew off in a personal jet along with his girlfriend for a vacation in Sardinia whilst recovering from the injury, and a petition for the club to sell the striker has astonishingly amassed greater than 30 million signatures.
The off-field drama doesn’t stop there for Madrid, who will probably be without Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde.
The-27-year-old was taken to hospital earlier this week with a head injury after a training ground dispute with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni allegedly became physical – something which he has denied and for which each players have been fined by the club.
Valverde, who says he ‘unintentionally hit a table’ throughout the row, has been diagnosed with a sort of concussion and might want to rest at home for as much as 14 days.
Elsewhere, Madrid could have to contend with the absences of Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Arda Guler and Ferland Mendy.
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