Overview
While Real Madrid is mired in crisis both on and off the field, Barcelona is taking steady steps towards the La Liga championship in the 2025-2026 season. The Catalan team is showing almost absolute form and is considered the most stable team in Spanish football currently.
After 34 rounds, Barcelona has won 29 matches, drawn one and lost only 4 matches, thereby owning 88 points. Hansi Flick's team is also maintaining a 10-match winning streak in La Liga, most recently a 2-1 victory over Osasuna.
That impressive form helps Barca get very close to the championship and they can completely be crowned right after El Clasico this weekend. As long as they do not lose to Real Madrid, the Camp Nou team will officially win the championship against their arch-rival.
Barcelona is also clearly dominant in recent encounters between the two teams. They once defeated Real Madrid 3-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January, despite losing 1-2 at the Bernabeu in the first leg of La Liga in October 2025.
In all competitions, Barca has won 5 of their last 6 encounters with Real Madrid. However, the Royal team still has beautiful memories, including a 4-0 victory right at Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semi-finals in 2023.
In contrast to Barcelona's stability, Real Madrid is experiencing a chaotic period. The focus of the past week was the scuffle between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni on the training ground. Valverde even had to be hospitalized after a collision and was diagnosed with a head injury, putting him at risk of being out of action for about two weeks.
The atmosphere in Real Madrid's dressing room is also considered extremely tense. Many sources in Spain revealed that Kylian Mbappe is having conflicts with some teammates, as the capital team prepares to close another season empty-handed.
Real Madrid has been eliminated from the Champions League and almost has no chance of competing for the La Liga title when they are 11 points behind Barcelona. Alvaro Arbeloa's team is likely to continue to finish the season in second place.
However, Los Blancos still entered the El Clasico match with great determination to prevent Barcelona from winning early. The 2-0 victory over Espanyol in the most recent round partly helped Real Madrid regain their spirit after a series of turbulent days.
Personnel situation
Barcelona will not have the services of young talent Lamine Yamal for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury. However, Hansi Flick's squad is still considered to be deep and capable of maintaining strength before the decisive El Clasico match with Real Madrid.
Good news for the Camp Nou home team is that Andreas Christensen has returned to training after a long period of rest due to a knee injury. The Danish center-back is likely to be included in the registered squad list.
On Real Madrid's side, Valverde is definitely absent after the injury sustained in the collision with Tchouameni on the training ground. However, despite being involved in internal scandals, Tchouameni is still eligible to play and is expected to start in midfield.
Real Madrid also received positive signals when Thibaut Courtois and Mbappe have both recovered from recent fitness problems. Both are predicted to start from the beginning in the away match to Camp Nou.
Expected lineup:
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo, E. Garcia, Pedri, Rashford, Gavi, Fermin, Lewandowski.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, F. Garcia, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Pitarch, Bellingham, Vinicius, Mbappe.
The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid takes place at 2:00 AM on May 11 (Vietnam time).
