Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Complete Player-by-Player Breakdown for El Clasico
The Clasico is almost upon us.
On Saturday evening, Barcelona and Real Madrid will do battle at the Camp Nou in the 172nd edition of the world-famous fixture in La Liga. On paper, it is the Catalans who hold the edge, sitting 10 points clear in the table of their eternal rivals from the capital.
In the Clasico, however, form can often count for little. Clashes between these two behemoths are volatile and wildly unpredictable. "These games are different," said Andres Iniesta this week. "It doesn't matter how the sides go into them, whether in better or worse shape."
So how do these teams compare? How will they lineup?
Across the following slides, we've picked our starting XIs and broken them down position by position.
Goalkeepers
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Claudio Bravo
He's kept 13 clean sheets in 26 games. He's conceded only 17 goals all season. Only Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak has a better record.
And yet routinely his excellence is overlooked because of the perception that he has little to do.
Not true.
Claudio Bravo is perhaps more involved than any goalkeeper has been at Barcelona in recent years because of the shift in playing style. To cater for their explosive forwards, Barcelona's game has become more vertical, more stretched and slightly more chaotic.
As such, to become more dynamic, they've had to sacrifice a degree of control, heightening the demands on Bravo just as the last Clasico showed.
The proof? The guy below who's been marvelled at all season has made 75 saves, per WhoScored.com; Bravo has made 73.
Admittedly, Barcelona concede fewer high-quality chances than Madrid, but Bravo's consistency is still notable.
Season Grade: B+
Keylor Navas
Real Madrid won impressively. Goals flowed. The BBC all scored. In patches Madrid were brilliant.
And yet Keylor Navas was their best player.
Again.
In saving a penalty (again) and pulling off a number of other key saves against Sevilla prior to the international break, Navas in a single performance summed up his own season and that of his team.
Alert, fast, agile and insanely intense, the Costa Rican was on hand to bail out his team-mates. Again. Just as he'd done against Las Palmas, Malaga, Roma, Espanyol, Granada, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo La Coruna and Celta Vigo.
It's remarkable. Despite the talent in front of him, Navas has been forced into action with the sort of frequency you might expect for a goalkeeper down the road in Vallecas.
You suspect he'll have plenty to do on Saturday as well.
Season Grade: A
Right-Backs
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Dani Alves
In the two months leading up to the season's first Clasico in November, the extent of Dani Alves' influence on Barcelona had felt limited.
Typically free-wheeling up the right flank, the Brazilian has felt subdued; with Lionel Messi sidelined, Barcelona had become more left-sided as Neymar had grown in prominence, Jordi Alba becoming the more dominant full-back as a result.
But following Messi's return in the Clasico, normal order has resumed.
Flying up the right, Alves has returned to being his incisive and destructive self from right-back. Admittedly, he's not as quick as he once was, and he has split the duties with Aleix Vidal to an extent, but he enters this Clasico in strong form given his pair of displays against Arsenal.
Season Grade: B+
Dani Carvajal
If sense prevails on Saturday, Dani Carvajal will start. If it doesn't, Danilo will.
All season, the cash-fuelled political nonsense at right-back has been emblematic of Real Madrid's habit for getting in their own way. In Carvajal, Madrid have an excellent, homegrown, two-way full-back; in Danilo, they have an expensive one. And the latter plays—because of that.
Admittedly, the Brazilian has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, but Carvajal remains the superior option. Faster, more agile, more precise on the ball, the owner of quicker feet and sharper recovery skills, the Spaniard is better equipped to deal with Barcelona's Neymar, and during the opening month of Zidane's tenure was one of Madrid's outstanding players.
Since, however, Zidane has opted to split the duties between the two men, recent games illustrating it nicely: Celta Vigo? Carvajal. Roma? Danilo. Las Palmas? Carvajal. Sevilla? Danilo.
On Saturday, Carvajal should start, but that doesn't mean he will.
Season Grade: B
Right-Sided Centre-Backs
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Gerard Pique
Perhaps it's the aesthetic elements of his game, perhaps it's his laid-back disposition or perhaps it's his social media activity: For whatever reason, Gerard Pique's excellence never feels as though it's universally recognised.
And it should be.
When Pique is taken out of this Barcelona side, the drop off is striking. With him, they have presence, personality and a certain swagger; without him, undeniable vulnerabilities surface.
When Barcelona struggled past Malaga and Las Palmas, Pique's absence stood out. More recently, Arsenal enjoyed far more success in attack when Pique was suspended for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie at the Camp Nou.
Curiously, there's a reluctance outside Catalonia to view the centre-back as colossal or pivotal. But he is. And he has been all season.
Season Grade: A
Pepe
It's said much about the sort of season Real Madrid's centre-backs have had in 2015-16 that Pepe has probably been the best of the bunch.
Now 33, the Portuguese entered the current season tipped to play a back-up role behind Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane—the pairing that was supposed to be pacey. Rock-solid. Complete. Undisputed.
Instead, Ramos has battled with injury and form, and Varane has had a campaign in which his progression feels as though it's slowed. Certainly, the structural issues in front of them haven't helped, but their struggle to cement themselves as a partnership has seen the combative, physical Pepe win more playing time than was expected.
And he's been good: Energetic, intense and relatively disciplined.
A start in the Clasico looks to be coming his way.
Season Grade: B
Left-Sided Centre-Backs
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Javier Mascherano
Closing in on 300 appearances as a central defender for Barcelona, Javier Mascherano is doing pretty well for someone who's, well, not meant to be a central defender.
In many ways, the Argentinian is perfect at the back for the Catalans: composed, comfortable in possession, at ease when stepping into midfield. But he's more than that, too.
Regularly this season, Mascherano has laid key tackles—think last time out against Villarreal—and made last-ditch interventions, thriving despite his side relinquishing a degree of control.
Of course, the former Liverpool man has looked vulnerable at times when Gerard Pique has been missing—the games referenced on the Pique slide serve as neat examples—but that won't be the case on Saturday.
Season Grade: B+
Sergio Ramos
When Real Madrid fought to keep Sergio Ramos at the club during an extended contract dispute last summer, this was not the sort of season they envisaged.
After strong campaigns under Carlo Ancelotti, the Spaniard was expected to further strengthen the sense of him being the club's emotional leader. Its spirit, perhaps. Its standard bearer.
Instead, Ramos has battled with injury issues all season, which have translated into struggles with form. Not in peak condition, Madrid's captain has lacked his typical force and aggression, his game somewhat passive this season, his decision-making lacking clarity.
If Madrid are to make something of this season—win the Clasico, triumph in Europe—it's Ramos whose form needs to do the biggest reversal.
Season Grade: C
Left-Backs
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Jordi Alba
After picking up an ankle knock while on international duty with Spain against Romania on Sunday, per AS' Santi Gimenez, Jordi Alba isn't certain to start for Barcelona in the Clasico.
But the Catalans will be hoping he does.
None of Alba's defensive team-mates can match his industry, energy and incisiveness from the left-back post. More pertinently, few are available to try.
With Jeremy Mathieu and Adriano also injured, Luis Enrique desperately needs Alba to be available, who remains critical to the defence even if 2015-16 hasn't been his best season at the club.
Season Grade: B
Marcelo
How you judge Marcelo's season will depend on what you see as his primary task: If you choose to focus on the demand for him to cover the entire left wing in Madrid's rather lopsided system, you'll view him as brilliant; if you focus on his duty to defend, you'll probably reach a very different conclusion.
In characteristic fashion this season, Marcelo has polarised opinion. Both pivotal to Madrid's fluency in attack but also representative of their issues without the ball, the Brazilian is a talented, flashy and unpredictable contradiction.
When Madrid play well, he's often central to it; when Madrid play badly, ditto.
His opponent this time: Lionel Messi.
Season Grade: B
Holding Midfielders
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Sergio Busquets
Luis Enrique describes him as "fundamental" and the "best midfielder in the world without a doubt." Pep Guardiola said "if I was reincarnated as a player, I'd like to be like him." Vicente del Bosque once said similar. Xavi told UEFA.com he has "best understanding of football, both in attack and in defence, in the world."
It's high praise. And yet still Sergio Busquets is overlooked by so many outside Catalonia.
So subtle yet so effective, Busquets exerts an extraordinary influence on this Barcelona, and this season might be one of his finest. Underpinning a more explosive XI, Enrique's anchor gives the Catalans security, fluency, control and balance, his importance given added weight by the marked difference when he's missing.
Earlier in the season, amid injuries and reshuffling, Busquets also demonstrated a capacity to play more creatively, shouldering extra responsibility and not missing a beat while doing so.
Season Grade: A+
Casemiro
He was prominent when Rafa Benitez took over. He was pushed aside when Benitez came under pressure over style. He stayed peripheral as Zidane settled in.
But now he's back.
With Zidane starting to put his own stamp on Madrid in recent weeks, the message has been important: Two consecutive managers, when free to shape the team, have wanted Casemiro in their XI.
It's not hard to understand why. Rugged, forceful, unafraid to get his hands dirty, Casemiro is one of the squad's few players able to bring a sense of balance to Madrid's system.
Admittedly, incorporating the Brazilian hasn't been seamless for Zidane—the recent clashes with Roma and Las Palmas showed there's still some way to go for the midfield in this setup—but Madrid's overall display against Sevilla with Casemiro anchoring the team looked to be a step forward for Zidane in the search for his XI.
Season Grade: B+
Right-Sided Midfielders
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Ivan Rakitic
It's been a season of two rather distinct halves for Ivan Rakitic in 2015-16.
In the campaign's opening months, the Croatian looked off-colour and subdued: The energy and work rate that had made him prominent during Barcelona's run to last season's treble wasn't the same; his sharp, vertical passing lacked a certain edge.
Injury admittedly played a role, but there appeared to be something of a treble hangover in Rakitic. But not anymore.
In the season's second half, the midfielder has rediscovered much of that spark, his intensity important in sustaining Barcelona's extraordinary unbeaten run.
Season Grade: B
Luka Modric
Glance ahead. Thump. Goal. Celebration.
Luka Modric had just struck the winner for Real Madrid against Granada, an act that had encapsulated just how influential he's become. Around him, his team-mates had largely been flat, aimless. Awful. But he'd kept going and kept probing, quietly willing his team on with persistence and a collective conscience.
That pretty much tells the story.
In a Madrid side riddled with inconsistencies, Modric's excellence is one of the few constants.
Season Grade: A
Left-Sided Midfielders
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Andres Iniesta
He'd completely dominated, had blasted home a stunning goal and had been applauded off the Santiago Bernabeu. "[He's] world heritage," said Luis Enrique of Andres Iniesta, after the latter's fine days' work in the season's first Clasico.
Prior to that evening, Iniesta's form had been steady but not brilliant, injury having interrupted the early months of his season. But that was the day it changed; that was the day his season took off.
Since, Iniesta has resumed being, well, Iniesta.
Though Enrique has clearly tried to protect his veteran midfielder, the 31-year-old has continued to be the creative leader behind the front three, working in his favourite pockets, feeding the monsters up front. There might be more to come, too.
"The nicest part of the season is still to play," he said this week.
Season Grade: A
Toni Kroos
So the second-season syndrome is a thing at Real Madrid. See Gareth Bale. See James Rodriguez.
See Toni Kroos.
After a strong debut season in the Spanish capital, Kroos has endured a difficult campaign in 2015-16. As Rafa Benitez looked to craft a midfield of a different essence in the season's first half, the German's continuity was disrupted and his clarity stripped away as he was trialled in an array of positions.
Since, Kroos has never quite got back to being Kroos again: the smooth conductor who took Madrid to a new level in late 2014.
In possession, he's been less incisive; without it, he hasn't been able to mask his vulnerabilities.
Now he's playing on the left of midfield because Casemiro is preferred in his position.
Season Grade: C
Right Wingers
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Lionel Messi
It might be a disconcerting thought for Real Madrid that Barcelona's assault at the Bernabeu in November came with Lionel Messi, for the most part, sitting on the bench, smiling, clapping.
Eventually, as a second-half substitute, the Argentinian made his return that evening after two months out through injury.
Since, he's simply picked up where he left of, the numbers ridiculous: 30 goals, three hat-tricks, nine assists and millions of disbelieving eyes.
What else is there to say?
Season Grade: A+
Gareth Bale
It's the sort of strike rate Real Madrid envisaged when they bought him: In 2015-16, Gareth Bale is running at almost a goal per game in La Liga.
The only problem is that he hasn't played enough games.
With only 16 league starts to his name thus far, Bale has spent almost half of the season sidelined with niggling calf injuries that have consistently disrupted his career in the Spanish capital. But even amid the interruptions, the Welshman has stormed to 15 goals and in the process has looked empowered and imposing. Like a leader. Like a star.
Essentially everything he wasn't last season.
If not for those injuries, he'd take maximum marks here.
Season Grade: B+
Left Wingers
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Neymar
It's strange: In recent weeks, there'd been a feeling Neymar's season was slowing down a little, losing a fraction of momentum, his influence tailing off a touch.
But then you look at the statistics: four goals in his last three games; assists against Rayo Vallecano, Arsenal and Valencia before that. There was the dazzling display against Celta Vigo, too.
That such a run can be considered a slight drop from what went before it speaks volumes for just how high Neymar went in the season's first half. With Messi injured, he became Barcelona's leader and focal point, no one left in any doubt as to who was boss.
In the season's first Clasico, the Brazilian was immense; for two months, he was the world's leading player.
Since, it's only natural that his dominance has lessened. With Messi back, Neymar is now one of three again rather than one of two. But he's still a pretty spectacular one.
Season Grade: A+
Cristiano Ronaldo
His record reads 41 goals in 38 games, but still many remain critical, unsatisfied.
It's a hot topic.
In 2015-16, Cristiano Ronaldo has maintained his staggering rate of scoring, but talk of decline continues to rage anyway. For his supporters, the numbers are proof of his worth; for his detractors, they're misleading.
Of course, there is some truth in the perception that Ronaldo's impact on crunch games is waning. So far this season, he's failed to score against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia, and he was also outshone by others in both clashes with Sevilla.
But what is too often overlooked is his relentless streak. The way he never yields, never tires. How he keeps going again and again and again.
While Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale can't stay fit, Ronaldo is ever present; while others endure extended slumps, he snaps out of his quickly.
For nearly every other player on the planet, we stress the importance of freshness and getting rest. Of managing playing time and avoiding burnout.
Ronaldo, though? He's played every single minute of this league season, and somehow we've grown to consider that normal.
Season Grade: A
Strikers
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The impact Luis Suarez has had on Barcelona has been extreme. The goals, of course, stand out—all 43 of them this season—but there's so much more to him: energy, movement, intelligence, feistiness, durability, consistency.
This season, Suarez has been utterly relentless.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Season Grade: A+
Karim Benzema
For what we said about Gareth Bale, ditto for Karim Benzema.
When Rafa Benitez set the Frenchman a target of 20-25 goals at the beginning of the season, it felt about right for a striker of his calibre. Now, though, he's on track for 30.
And that's despite missing 10 games.
Like Bale, Benzema has too often been missing for Madrid at critical junctures, injuries having interrupted his season and preventing the BBC from lining up together as regularly as Madrid require.
Ahead of Saturday's Clasico, though, Zidane will be encouraged by the striker's emphatic return against Sevilla.
Season Grade: A
