Barcelona, Oct 24: When Real Madrid added Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona looked doomed to becoming a regular runner-up to its fierce rival.
Then Hansi Flick arrived with fresh ideas, Lamine Yamal blossomed into a star, his teammates stepped up their game, and Saturday’s Clasico promises to be a highly entertaining and close-fought match.
It will be the first clasico for Mbappé and Flick. Barcelona leads La Liga by three points from second-placed Madrid.
Here is a line-by-line look at the teams set to face off at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The forwardsReal Madrid became the envy of soccer when Mbappé walked away from Paris Saint-Germain and joined Madrid as a free agent last summer.
He has teamed up with the already brilliant Vinícius Júnior to form the most lethal one-two punch in soccer, especially when either has any room to dribble at defenses caught off guard.
They have scored eight goals across all competitions, while Vinícius also has seven assists. Vinícius arrives in particularly great form after his hat trick fueled a 5-2 comeback from two goals down against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
But with Rodrygo doubtful and Endrick unused by coach Carlo Ancelotti in recent games, Barcelona collectively may be able to counter Madrid’s firepower up front.Robert Lewandowski is playing at his best since arriving in Barcelona. Under Flick, his former coach at Bayern Munich, the 36-year-old Poland striker has scored 15 times, including a league-leading 12.
Raphinha has morphed from a hard-working winger into a scorer and team leader. (AP)
