Real Madrid hosts Barcelona in an El Clásico with potential La Liga title implications.
While it may not be El Clásico in the way that we've come to expect, Saturday's match in the Spanish capital between Real Madrid and Barcelona still holds major title implications.
Atlético Madrid's 10-point lead atop La Liga at the end of January has all but vanished as both Barcelona and Real find themselves in excellent form. With a win over Real Valladolid (owned by former Barça and Real star Ronaldo) on Monday, La Blaugrana pulled to within one point of league-leading Atlético.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid, which sits three points behind Atlético, has gone unbeaten in its last 12 matches (10 wins), including a formidable showing in a comfortable 3-1 win over Liverpool in the first leg of its UEFA Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.
How to Watch
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV channel: beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español.
Livestream: You can watch the match on fuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial.
Considering that Real will be without its starting center backs in Sergio Ramos (injury) and Raphaël Varane (COVID-19), manager Zinedine Zidane will have to work up some more late-season magic if he hopes to win a second straight La Liga title. Éder Militão and Nacho earned the start against Liverpool on Tuesday and will likely reprise their roles.
While no longer in the Champions League, Barcelona also faces a busy week ahead with the 2021 Copa del Rey final next weekend against Athletic Bilbao. The Catalan giants lost 3-1 in this season's first Clásico despite Ansu Fati's eighth minute equalizer, but a win on Saturday would vault them into first at least until Atlético's Sunday meeting with Real Betis.
Sports Illustrated may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.