Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: The Most Important Clasico in Recent History

Heading into this weekend's clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga, there are a number of reasons to believe the upcoming Clasico is the most significant in recent history.

Yes, both teams have to navigate through distinctly tricky opponents in Chelsea and Bayern Munich, respectively, midweek—but the Champions League semifinals will do little to completely draw attention away from the fourth Clasico of this season (excluding the Spanish Super Cup).

The game on Saturday night might seem like a culmination of what we've seen since Jose Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid: his side have steadily grown to a level where they are able to challenge Barcelona.

The 5-0 thrashing at the Nou Camp seems a long way away from where we are now. The Copa del Rey win made great strides to close the gap on Barcelona, and the 2-2 draw in the quarterfinal of the Copa del Rey this year proved that Madrid are not far off from beating Barcelona in 90 minutes.

But this is far from an end of an era. If Barcelona lose the Clasico and subsequently the league title, it doesn't simply signal the end of the greatest team in modern football. It very much opens the door to a new challenge from Real Madrid, one which could spawn an even more accomplished and impressive monster in this Barcelona side.

Madrid Can Win the League

The simplest and most straight-forward point to take from this upcoming Clasico is that Real Madrid can win the league on the back of a good result.

Despite their disappointing results over the past month, there is still room for Madrid to go on and win the La Liga title—an accomplishment that seemed wrapped up as recently as March.

The remainder of the difficult run-in for Madrid would be made significantly easier if Jose Mourinho and his men were to put the threat from Barcelona to bed and walk away with even a point from the Nou Camp.

The title would practically be on its way to Madrid, and only their own undoing could halt that.

What is significant is that Madrid will have tipped the scales heavily in their favour going into next season if they win the title. They know they've had the better squad of the two teams; they were able to overcome obstacles where Barcelona fell more frequently; and the Catalans could be in a position where they are playing catch-up to Madrid after their summer acquisitions.

While a year ago it seemed improbable to imagine a team capable of challenging Barcelona and bettering them over the course of any competition (even though Mourinho's Inter Milan knocked them out of the 2010 Champions League), Madrid will have taken phenomenal strides forward to wrestle the Spanish crown out of the hands of the champions.

Even if Real Madrid don't beat Barcelona in this tie but avoid defeat, winning the league title will surely lay to rest the disappointments of not beating Barcelona over the course of 90 minutes.

At least until next season.

Real Madrid Will Become Hungrier for Next Season

What an achievement it would be if Real Madrid do finish off Barcelona inside 90 minutes. Parading a league title with the added gloss of having beaten the world's best team in their own stadium would only add for a greater sense of desire for next season.

The significance of this tie is so great that it could lead to Real Madrid going on to capture double glory with the Champions League as the strongest squad in European football. There's a lot of momentum that can be built from a positive result in this match, and it's something that can be translated into success in this year's Champions League.

Should they fail for the double this season, however, there is an opportunity to build on the success of this season and form another charge on the European stage next year.

It would be unfair to assume that a loss for Madrid this weekend will set them back greatly.

This Madrid team have comfortably been the better of the two sides this year. Their 10-point lead over Barcelona during the season had little to do with Barcelona's own problems; rather, it highlighted just how good this Madrid team is.

No other club in the world can call up two of Europe's best strikers to rotate in and out of the lineup and still grab over 20 goals each. Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain have accomplished this and garnered even more praise than of Cristiano Ronaldo for their consistency.

Meanwhile, the weak areas at the back will be addressed.

Madrid's gain at centre-half through the permanent shift of Sergio Ramos from right back has greatly improved the core of their defence. But the sacrifice has come at the full-back position.

This Clasico could serve as a great catapult for a Madrid side who have been very impressive this season.

Barcelona Could Display Their Dominance Despite League Position

There's no question that Barcelona have struggled in recent fixtures. Yes, the slump of midseason seems to be over, but there have been very obvious causes for concern of late. Their goal tallies of four or five in recent weeks shouldn't disguise the fact that they haven't always looked assured in front of goal.

Quite simply, the team are struggling to find the net with anyone outside of Lionel Messi.

Alexis Sanchez has brought goals with him from Italy, and academy graduates like Christian Tello have chipped in as well. But there is little consistency from others, and it took a very controversial penalty against Levante to swing the game in Barcelona's favour.

But their 3-1 win in the league Clasico earlier in the season should be a reminder that they're capable of grabbing all three points at any time.

A win for Barcelona will prove to everyone (including themselves) that they can still get the job done even though they haven't been the best team—either in clashes between both sides or in the entire league over 38 games.

Above all, it's a game that could have a say on the outcome as far forward as next season. It has become this significant because Madrid must get a result to signal an arrival on Barcelona's level. Perhaps not aesthetically, but certainly in ability to win a league title.

The reaction from the Nou Camp could and probably will be to address what went wrong on a number of occasions this season. There will be the return of David Villa or another prolific body on that left flank, and the team will emerge stronger for it.

But for Madrid, and the rest of Europe, it shows that Barcelona can be gotten, and over time it is possible to close that gap in spite of peripheral factors such as injuries and referees.

A win for Madrid this weekend and a near-guarantee of the league title will show that Barcelona now have an equal, and will have to work to reacquire the status of being the best in the world.