The stakes could not be higher as double champions Real Madrid host leaders Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu today in a duel that could determine the fate of this season’s Spanish championship.
Barcelona hold a four-point cushion over Real going into El Clasico so victory would virtually secure the title with just four games left, however, if Real win they would be just a point behind cranking up the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side.
For Barcelona it is the second tough game inside five days having faced Chelsea on Tuesday in the Champions League semi-final first leg which finished 0-0.
A similar result would probably suit Guardiola fine but Real, who are well rested after no European commitments, will hope their rivals have heavy legs.
“Real may be the favorites with home advantage but Barca are the league leaders and not so long ago people were talking about them coming here to win the title,” said Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
“We want the fans to get excited but we are not a point behind Barcelona yet and we also have a more difficult run-in than them,” he said.
It will be a contrast of different soccer style as the flair and panache of Barcelona come up against the robot-like efficiency of Real.
Real have gone 18 league games unbeaten — with 17 wins and one draw — to get back in the title race and their last loss came in mid-December with a 2-0 reverse against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Barca had a 12-point gap over Real back then but now that is down to four points as they struggle to get across the finish line.
If both sides finish level on points the head-to-head record decides the league — as it did for Real in 2007 when Barca and Real had equal points — so Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Real gives them a slight edge.
Guardiola’s side have to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final and Lionel Messi believes a win over Real could aid their European aspirations.
“If we win, we’ll be able to go to Chelsea [next week] feeling more relaxed,” Messi said. “We are a very close team and are all very motivated to win a title for Barca after two years without one.”
While the spotlight is on Real-Barca there is another crucial match today as Sevilla travel to Villarreal.
Sevilla have lost their last four matches and are clinging to third place with Valencia now just one point behind.
Tomorrow Valencia travel to in-form Espanyol who have collected 13 points from 15 to move out of the relegation zone.
Villarreal are two points back from Sevilla in fifth making the match at El Madrigal a must-win game for both sides.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but