El Clasico is right around the corner, which means all eyes will be on La Liga this weekend. Barcelona has already won the title, but pride will be up for battle when Real Madrid pays them a visit on Sunday.
Everyone will expect this to be a showdown between Messi and Cristiano, but the fate of this game could be decided by the two men in between the sticks: Marc-André ter Stegen and Keylor Navas. These two goalkeepers have saved their team on several occasions and might have to bail them out once more in the upcoming Camp Nou tie.
In La Liga, Ter Stegen has been enjoying a tremendous season. The German would be, hands down, the best goalkeeper in the Spanish top-flight had a man by the name of Jan Oblak not existed. Nonetheless, the Blaugrana shot-stopper is neck-to-neck with the Atletico custodian in the stats.
The same cannot be said for Navas, however. While the Costa Rican has not been awful this season, he has not been a commanding figure in goal for last season’s champion. Comparing his stats with Ter Stegen’s proves the Barcelona ace has been far more superior than his Blancos counterpart.
Stats in La Liga this season (as per Fox Sports and La Liga)
Ter Stegen
Goals conceded: 21
Clean sheets: 18
Saves: 91
Saves per goal: 4.3
Punches: 14
Navas
Goals conceded: 29
Clean sheets: 6
Saves: 77
Saves per goal: 2.7
Punches: 4
The Blaugrana man comes out on top in every single category. However, one could blame Navas’ stats on Real Madrid’s below-par season in the Spanish Primera Division. His inferior numbers are a testament of how poor Zidane’s men have been this term, especially in the first half of the season.
A look at the Champions League, where Los Merengues has been performing well, shows that their Costa Rican goalie has been faring better in Europe. The 31-year-old may have conceded more goals than Ter Stegen (12 to his six), but he has made more saves (28 to his 23), more claims (35 to his 19) and more punches (six to his three).
Regardless of form, these are two capable custodians. They could be the difference between winning and losing, as their shot-stopping skills could easily frustrate the opposition.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
