Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Will El Clasico decide the league title on March 19th?

Topics: TV Listings, TV Schedules, Barcelona, Real Madrid, La Liga

Another Clasico is on the cards as familiar foes Barcelona and Real Madrid prepare to match wits on Sunday, March 19th.

Less than two weeks after locking horns in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, Barcelona and Real Madrid will once again renew acquaintances as another installment of the world-famous El Clasico gets underway on Sunday, March 19th. Barcelona currently hold a nine point lead over second-placed Real Madrid as the Blaugrana aim to win their first La Liga title in four years, and will look to extend that to 12 when they take on a very familiar opponent this weekend.

While the Blaugrana have done well domestically - they have already won the Spanish Super Cup and are into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey - the same can't be said of their European adventures. Xavi's men were first dumped out at the group stages of this season's Champions League before suffering an early exit in the Europa League at the hands of Manchester United, but will now be firmly focused on the possibility of adding two more domestic titles to their cabinet at the end of this campaign.

This will be the third Clasico meeting between Barcelona and Real Madrid; the two met earlier this season in La Liga during which Los Blancos won 3-1, followed by the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi's in which the Blaugrana earned a narrow 1-0 victory. The onus will be on Barcelona to try to avoid dropping points here, as anything short of a win could blow the title race back open, and the Blaugrana will hope that their solid home record will help them overcome an opponent who can never be underestimated.

Impressively, Barcelona, who have the strongest home record in the league, have conceded just eight goals in league play all season. Certainly, that will come under threat on Sunday as Real Madrid, with 50 goals, are the highest scoring side in the league. Interestingly, the three teams to prevent Los Blancos from scoring in La Liga are Real Sociedad (0-0 draw), Mallorca (1-0 loss), and Real Betis (0-0 draw). Carlo Ancelotti's troops come into this match having booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with a 1-0 home win over Liverpool enough to secure Los Blancos passage to the final eight.

Domestically, Real Madrid do have some ground to make up after picking up draws in two of their last three La Liga matches, but will be encouraged by the fact that they have won five of their last six meetings with Barcelona in the league. Overall, Los Blancos have lost just one of their last 10 matches across all comps - a surprise 1-0 reversal to Mallorca on February 5th - but could fatigue play a part in this match? Unlike Barcelona, who are no longer involved in European competition and thus will be more rested, Real Madrid were in action midweek, and it remains to be seen if that has any impact on Ancelotti's squad as they hope to close the gap on their bitter rivals.

Team news: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Barcelona: This match appears to have come too soon for Ousmane Dembele, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury, to feature. However, youngster Pedri has recovered from his own hamstring problem and should return to the starting XI here. Ronald Araujo is also back in the fold after serving a suspension for Barcelona's last game against Athletic Bilbao.

Real Madrid: The visitors have pretty much a full-strength squad available, with only David Alaba missing out due to a hamstring problem.

Match facts: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid have won their last two trips to Camp Nou in the league; Los Blancos are hoping to make it three in a row for the first time since the 1960's
Barcelona are unbeaten so far at home in La Liga (W10 D2)
However, the Blaugrana have lost five of their last six league meetings against Real Madrid (W1)
Barcelona have conceded just eight goals so far this season in the league
Ancelotti has won three of his last seven Clasico ties against Barcelona (L4) and could become the fourth manager in history to win four against Barcelona if Real Madrid win on Sunday