‘Clasico’ cracker as giants in crucial battle

REAL MADRID and Barcelona will both be looking to strike a major blow in the Primera Division title race tonight when the two Spanish superpowers go toe-to-toe in what will be the 80th ‘Clasico’ between the arch rivals at the Bernabeu.

Both are locked on 77 points at the top of the standings and Madrid are only ahead due to a goal difference of plus one.

“We will go out for the victory,” said Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini. “A draw is always a bad result for my team, we’ve never gone out looking for a draw. We’ve picked up a lot of victories away from home, and more at the Bernabeu, and this game is not going to be an exception.

“We have to show why we are leaders. We’ve always gone out to take the game to our opponents from the start and it will be no different on this occasion.”

Madrid are the form team in La Liga with 12 successive victories behind them and 15 home wins out of 15 in La Liga this season.

They are also the top scorers in the division with 83 goals, 42 of which have been scored by forward duo Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo — who between them have only made 45 La Liga appearances.

Barça are not short of firepower or form either, though. Last season’s sextuple winners have won their seven of their last eight league games and on Tuesday progressed through to the semi-finals of the Champions League after thumping Arsenal 4-1 in the second leg at the Nou Camp.

Pellegrini added: “I’m expecting a very open match. Barça are going through a great moment, as is reflected in the points of both teams in the league. They are also in the Champions League so we have to have a great game, the same as them.”

Barça won this corresponding fixture 6-2 last season to all but put that year’s title race to bed, moving seven points clear of Madrid with just four games remaining.

That was one of the most painful defeats in Madrid’s history, but Barça coach Pep Guardiola has ruled out something similar happening tonight.

“The 6-2 is unrepeatable. These things happen once in a lifetime, no more,” he said.

“If there were only three or four games to go I would say it is an almost decisive match, but when there are seven left afterwards it’s not so much, but it is very important,” he said.

“It’s not a final, but we need to play as if it was one.”

Guardiola will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Abidal through injury but centre-back Gerard Pique has been passed fit to play.

For Madrid, Kaka is again missing, as are Pepe and Royston Drenthe.