Clasico Countdown Begins Ahead of Clash That Will Shape Rest of La Liga Season
A month from now, the football world will be waking up and taking stock of a new La Liga table. A post-Clasico table.
Because whatever happens in that game on Saturday, December 3, it will have a seismic impact on how the season unfolds, both on the pitch and off it.
As things stand, Real Madrid are top of the league with 24 points from 10 games. Seven wins, three draws, unbeaten.
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Barcelona are second with 22 points from the same number of matches. Seven wins, one draw and two defeats.
Just behind are Atletico Madrid and Sevilla on 21, and they could have a say in the title race, particularly Diego Simeone's side. But with Los Blancos leading the way, Luis Enrique views them as Barcelona's main challengers for the title.
On top of all the added excitement that comes with the world's biggest derby clash, that is what will influence the coach over the next month or so. Every decision he makes will be one where he considers the knock-on effect for the Clasico.
He might have been of a mind to rush Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba back from their injuries to face Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Sunday, one of the toughest games Barcelona will play all season, but the club do not want to take any chances.
Andres Iniesta's goal is to return from injury in time to face Real Madrid, and if the forecast of six to eight weeks before he can return works out at its most optimistic, he will be back. Luis Enrique will have little doubt throwing him in, if fit enough.
The Asturian coach gave Luis Suarez his debut in the October Clasico in 2014, even though the player hadn't played since the World Cup that summer and had only been training with his team-mates for a few weeks.
One aspect that Barcelona will have to look at carefully is Suarez and Neymar's yellow-card status. Suarez has been booked four times already in the league, while Neymar has three to his name.
Receive five bookings and you miss a game, so it would be no surprise if the Uruguayan forward is told to pick up another booking against Sevilla on Sunday to then be banned for the next match, at home against Malaga, and free after that to face Real Sociedad and then Real Madrid without the fear of suspension hanging over him.
Neymar, meanwhile, will be told to be on his best behaviour and not pick up the fourth booking that then makes life difficult for the coach.
If Neymar does see yellow against Sevilla, Luis Enrique will be left with a difficult decision to make.
Ideally he would have the Brazilian in the team to play both La Real and Los Blancos, two tricky games particularly considering the former is at the Anoeta, a ground that has proved difficult for Barcelona to succeed at in recent years.
But because of the looming Clasico, he would then wonder whether it was worth Neymar getting booked again against Malaga to guarantee his presence at Camp Nou on December 3—with the added advantage of the star having a nice rest ahead of the game.
On top of the three Liga clashes before the Clasico, Barcelona also have Champions League and Copa del Rey games to contend with.
His team's second-half collapse against Manchester City on Tuesday has prejudiced Luis Enrique's plans for the game away at Celtic on November 23, which now must be won.
Winning was, of course, always the plan, but had Barcelona beaten City and secured their qualification in top spot from the group, he could have played a heavily rotated team in Glasgow.
Now he will have to line up with a team that will look a lot like his side to face Real Madrid.
That is not the case for the Copa del Rey game on November 30, three days before the Clasico. Barcelona face Hercules in Alicante, and it would be a great surprise if any of the 11 men who start that game also start against Madrid at Camp Nou.
Thanks to the terrible format of the Copa del Rey, where each round takes place over two legs, Barcelona know that whatever damage Hercules do to them in that first game will be made irrelevant because the second match is at the Camp Nou, where they can go to town on the minnows.
The only way a big club can get knocked out early in the Copa del Rey is if there is a monumental administrative failing, as Real Madrid demonstrated last season against Cadiz, where Denis Cheryshev was selected while ineligible to play and they were eliminated.
Barcelona's aim is to get to the Clasico ahead of Real Madrid in the table, which isn't in their own hands because they trail them, although they will be expecting a lot from Atletico Madrid.
The Madrid derby on November 19 is the final such clash at the Vicente Calderon before the Rojiblancos move to their new stadium next season—barring a cup pairing with Real—and Simeone's side will look to mark that with a big performance.
Atletico's vibrancy in front of goal combined with Madrid's shaky defence could put an end to Los Blancos' unbeaten record this season, but if it doesn't, then this will be Barcelona's second objective.
Last season Barcelona went to the Bernabeu and smashed Real Madrid 4-0, and that was the beginning of the end for Rafa Benitez.
His team won four of their next six games, including a 10-2 drubbing of Rayo Vallecano, but a defeat by Villarreal and then a 2-2 draw against Valencia was enough for Florentino Perez to axe the coach.
Not because of those results but because the pain of that Clasico defeat still stung. According to Cadena Cope radio station, Perez pledged to pay each member of the team €150,000 if they could beat Barcelona in the second Clasico of the season. They did.
There is a feeling in Barcelona that if they can score a big win against Madrid, it could knock Los Blancos' apple cart right over.
After an easy start to the season, tough games are piling up for Zinedine Zidane's side. They face Leganes this weekend at home, which should be simple enough, but then they travel to Atletico, face Sporting Lisbon away in the Champions League where they must win, host Sporting Gijon and then play Barcelona.
After that come Borussia Dortmund at home, the Club World Cup, Valencia and Sevilla away, with a few easier games scattered in between.
Sustaining real damage in the Clasico could send Madrid into a tailspin. It seems almost ridiculous to say it, considering they haven't been beaten this season—but they have not played well either.
Asked about the title race in a recent press conference, Luis Enrique didn't wish to speak of it, pointing out "the direct confrontations with the leader are still to come."
And one is coming up fast, one that will have huge repercussions on the rest of the season.
Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained firsthand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_.
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