Barcelona, Real Madrid at risk of pre-Clasico defeats

Madrid: Barcelona and Real Madrid could be playing to be first in La Liga over the Christmas break on Wednesday but both are at risk of pre-Clasico defeats if their focus wavers this weekend.
There are few tougher fixtures in the league than Barca’s away at free-flowing fourth-placed Real Sociedad on Saturday or Madrid’s trip on Sunday to a revived Valencia, who have won three games on the bounce and beat Ajax in Amsterdam to win their group in the Champions League. Already qualified in Europe, Barcelona and Real Madrid had the luxury of rotating key players in midweek but as the emphasis shifts towards their crunch meeting at Camp Nou, the danger is that they underestimate the tasks in front of them.
Barcelona have won 13 of their last 15 games and seven out of their last seven, a run that has coincided with the return to form and fitness of Lionel Messi, who has 14 goals and two hat-tricks in his last 11 matches.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have won nine out of their last 12.
If their own surge has been slightly less consistent than Barca’s in terms of results, their performances have been more convincing.
In their last 10 games, they have scored 28 goals and conceded only five. (AFP)