If you’re a Madrista, this just doesn’t seem to be your season, I’m sorry to tell you. Your bitter arch-rivals, FC Barcelona have already beaten you twice this season. The first time came in late October, for the Bernabeu edition of this season’s La Liga El Clasico. Then, more recently, Real Madrid dropped the Copa Del Rey Final to Catalonia Club.
Factor in the Champions League elimination disappointment, and well, this just isn’t going to be a very glorious campaign after all.
El Clasico FYIs
Kickoff: Sun May 11, 4:15 PM, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia Spain
FC Barcelona Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Real Madrid Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
El Clasico Series History in La Liga: Madrid 79, FC Barcelona 75, Drawn 35
Google’s Result Probability FC Barcelona 48% Draw 23% Real Madrid 29%
La Liga Standing, Form: FC Barcelona 1st, 79 pts DWWWW Real Madrid 2nd, 75 pts, LWWWW
Adding to the frustration is the fact that it’s the Catalan club who will be getting all the flowers, well, many of the flowers, this term.
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, before his time at the club is done, will do his best to try and stop that. Here is what we believe is the best lineup towards potentially achieving that goal.
Real Madrid Starting Lineup Prediction at FC Barcelona (El Clasico)
Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vázquez, Raul Asencio, Aurelien Tchouameni, Fran García; Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos, Jude Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter