The stage is set for the biggest match of La Liga this season to be played at Camp Nou as Barcelona and Real Madrid fight for the title on Sunday.
On Sunday, the two biggest teams in Spain will go head-to-head in a clash that promises to be decisive in the title race. Barcelona play Real Madrid at the Camp Nou with revenge on their mind and an eye on the title. When Barcelona visited Madrid earlier in the season, they were beaten by a clinical Real Madrid side with a 3-1 scoreline. That defeat had a negative effect on Barcelonaa s morale and results following the defeat were not very positive. However, on Sunday, Barcelona go into the game as the favourites to emerge victorious as there is a vast difference in both teama s current form.
Real Madrid may be going through one of worst patch of the season after the turn of the year. In 2015, Real Madrid managed to see themselves end their 22-match winning streak, exit from Copa Del Rey, lose 4-0 to Atletico, lose the top spot in the league to Barcelona and scrape through to the Champions League quarter finals despite a 4-3 home defeat to Schalke. Now, Real Madrid are a point behind Barcelona and are facing the league leaders in their own backyard with a squad low on confidence and fans filled with anger.
While Real Madrid might not be favourites to win the game, they still have the quality and the ability to turn this season around and prove the critics wrong. Here are three things Real Madrid should do to win Sunday’s El Clasico.
Dump the 4-3-3 and switch to 4-4-2
It is a known fact that whenever Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo are fit, the three will be the first to get their names in the starting line-up. And when the three play together, Ancelotti prefers to use the 4-3-3 formation which focuses a lot on attacking. However, facing the strong and in-form Barcelona on Sunday, Ancelottia s team should switch to the 4-4-2 formation giving more emphasis on defending. The last two times, Real Madrid faced Barcelona, they won both the games with the 4-4-2 formation despite the absence of Ronaldo in the first game and Bale in the second. On Sunday, Bale should be the one to move to the midfield and contribute a bit more defensively, than usual. Another thing that will work in Real Madrida s favour is to play Bale on his preferred left side with Isco playing on the right, Modric and Kroos in the middle and Benzema and Ronaldo upfront. Behind Bale, Coentrao should start the game in place of Marcelo and provide a strong defensive cover whenever Bale unleashes his pace on the left wing.
Focus more on defending and only attack against the run of play
While some people may criticise the strategy of falling back and defending for most parts of the game, it definitely is a strategy that has produced results in the past. If we rewind a bit and remember last seasona s game against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Real Madrid had beaten the Bavarians in the first leg at the Bernabeu by a 1-0 margin. In that game, Real Madrid had allowed Bayern possession for most of the game and only struck one goal on the counter. That kind of performance is exactly what Real Madrid need on Sunday. To defend better, Ancelotti should make it clear that everyone should fall back and only exploit the Barcelona defence against the run of play. To make that possible, only four players, namely Bale, Benzema, either Isco or Carvajal and Ronaldo should make runs into the last third with Modric moving a bit forward to create chances and everyone else staying back. This means no defender should be attacking unless on set-pieces. Coentrao should be played on Sunday as he provides a better defensive cover than Marcelo and that will mean Bale and Ronaldo can play their natural game on the left.
Get more aggression out of Kroos
Until last season, Real Madrid had a bullish figure in the midfield protecting the back-four called Xabi Alonso. Xabi left for greener pastures as he joined Bayern Munich last summer and his position was taken over by Kroos. Precise passing, powerful long-shots and sublime set-piece delivery are some of the attributes the two midfielders share in common. However, Kroos does not have the defensive mind that Alonso possesses. Whenever, Real Madrid were in trouble and looked vulnerable defensively, Alonso went ahead and did whatever he could to make the attacker stop, including pushing, shoving or making some very dangerous tackles. Mostly, it resulted in a yellow card but it helped to stop the eventual attack. On Sunday, playing against the very deadly attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, Real Madrid need more than their back four and the keeper to protect their goal. Kroos should step up and provide a highly physical defensive cover. He should do his best to prevent the opposition attackers from getting into the final third and fearlessly stop them any way possible. Having Modric alongside will help him as the Croatian is good at tracking back and helping out the defenders.
All in all it will be tough for Real Madrid to bag a positive result. However, a perfect plan and its execution will make it possible for a Los Blancosa .