Countdown to the El Clasico decisive battle at the Bernabeu! Five key matchups may determine the outcome of the battle

Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the "old rivals" and "Kings" of football, have faced each other 260 times in official matches. Real Madrid (105 wins) leads Barcelona (103 wins) with a slight advantage of 2 games. Such a small gap highlights the terrifying competitiveness of both sides.

Last season, Real Madrid lost all four games against Barcelona. Today, Galacticos welcomes new coach Xabi Alonso, and its lineup and tactical system have been fully upgraded. Can he lead Real Madrid to break last season's "four-game losing streak" curse? Next, let us focus on the following core matchups, which may directly dominate the battle situation.

Carreras vs. Yamal

As a new player joining Real Madrid this summer, Carreras is about to set foot on the national derby field for the first time. But the Real Madrid left-back and Barcelona's popular winger Yamal have had direct conversations three times before. Both are rising stars, and now they will meet again in the El Clasico. Whether Carreras can withstand Yamal's impact will directly determine the threat of Barcelona's right-side attack. This matchup will become "one of the biggest variables" in Real Madrid's defense.

Vinicius, Mbappe vs Barcelona's offside trap

Last season, Barcelona had an absolute advantage in the national derby, largely due to the successful execution of the offside trap tactic. Especially when visiting the Bernabeu, Barcelona had Real Madrid players trapped in offside traps 12 times. Mbappe was whistled for offside 8 times and Vinicius 3 times. This tactic was the key to Barcelona's 4-0 victory. Now under Alonso's new tactical system, Real Madrid's two forwards may pay more attention to the timing of forward penetration, creating a substantial threat to Barcelona's defense.

Mbappe vs Szczesny

Due to the injury of Joan Garcia, once Mbappe successfully escapes the offside trap, Szczesny will become the last line of defense to stop him. Mbappe is in hot form this season, leading the La Liga scorer list with 10 goals in 9 games. This is undoubtedly a severe test for the Polish goalkeeper. In this Sunday's national derby matchup, Flick can only hope that Szczesny can make a difference when facing Mbappe.

Guler vs. Pedri

This El Clasico matchup is a battle for the future of the La Liga midfielder. The two most promising "post-00s" midfielders in today's football will assume the important task of organizing the team's offense. This season, Guler and Mbappe share the top spot with 23 times, while Pedri and Vinicius are tied for second with 22 times. The two young talented midfielders not only need to continuously deliver cannonballs on the offensive end, but also restrict each other on the defensive end. Whoever can suppress the opponent in this midfield battle will control the rhythm of the game and the ball.

Real Madrid center back vs. Araujo

Although Ronald Araujo is not expected to start the game, he may still play a key role as a substitute. In the 9th round of La Liga last weekend against Girona, he came on as a substitute and played as a temporary center forward, and finally scored the winning goal in stoppage time to help Barcelona win. Once the game enters the final stage and Barcelona urgently needs to score, the Uruguayan player will become a secret weapon that the team can rely on.