Clasico Preview: Can Real Madrid Land Knockout Blow, or Will Barcelona Duck It?

Manager Zinedine Zidane sat there in that quiet, serene way of his, waiting for the question that would inevitably come but also to deliver the response he would inevitably give.

His Real Madrid had just demolished Cultural Leonesa 6-1, but that barely mattered. Now, only Saturday does. "Whatever happens," said Zidane at the post-match press conference, per AS.com. He was ready to give the time-honoured line after the question had come. "The result isn't going to be decisive."

December is here, and with it come traditions. But before that, we've got a Clasico and traditions of its own. Clasico weeks might be feverish, but they're also bankers for certain things: suspicion of referees, toing and froing over whether this is political, propaganda machines in overdrive, the loss of all rationality, a heavy dose of Javier Tebas in recent times and countdown clocks for injured stars that only lack the sound effects from 24. 

But as present as any of them is the Clasico cliche: "It won't be decisive."

There's good reason, of course, for the ducking behind that line from managers and players. Tempting fate is dangerous; so too is tempting ridicule. The men involved steer clear of such bold assessments, but those around it sometimes can't help themselves. 

Ahead of the Clasico final in the 2011 Copa del Rey, one Sport columnist called it "the most important [match] that Barcelona have played in their entire history." After Barcelona lost, the same columnist said that "the Copa is, without doubt, the least important of the three titles Barcelona and Real Madrid are playing for this season."

It pays not to build things up, then. But it's also true that many Clasicos haven't been decisive in recent years—at least not at the time of them. Real Madrid and Barcelona have often entered them neck and neck and with still much to be worked out. 

It was like that last season when they met at the Santiago Bernabeu in November. It was the same for both meetings the season before and again the season before that. The Clasicos have mattered, they always do, but in that time they've rarely felt capable of being decisive of delivering a knockout blow. This one, though, feels a little different. 

Real Madrid head into Saturday's clash at the Camp Nou leading Barcelona by six points. The men from the capital haven't taken that sort of advantage into a Clasico since their title year of 2012. A win on Saturday would make it nine.

You don't need a calculator to work out that overturning a nine-point deficit in the 24 rounds that will follow is entirely possible. But nine points would be big and would be made even bigger by the contrasting mood around these teams. 

Madrid will arrive at the Camp Nou unbeaten in 32 games. It's the second longest such run in the club's history, with Zidane's men having gone past the mark set during Carlo Ancelotti's tenure. It's mightily impressive, but it's also confounding.

Madrid have rarely convinced in that time and have consistently showcased vulnerabilities. Last weekend's narrow scrape past Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu was a neat illustration of their essence: brilliant in moments but hardly brilliant in stretches.

It was that way against another Sporting, too, that of Lisbon. Similar themes were evident against Leganes, Legia Warsaw, Alaves, Athletic Bilbao, Eibar, Las Palmas and Villarreal.

Throughout, it's been tempting to say that Madrid are lucky, but at what point does it stop being luck? How many games does an unbeaten run need to reach before it's more than that? At what point does it just mean they're seriously good?

Zidane's men aren't flawless, but there's something about them right now. In recent seasons there have been questions of resilience around Madrid—the balance all too fine. But look now: They're deep and even. Twenty different players have scored in all competitions, and Zidane  getting something from everyone, with his team always finding a solution. 

That such a dynamic has set in amid constant injury issues strengthens the sense of what Madrid are doing. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Keylor Navas, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos have all battled injury at some point already; that's basically the entire best XI. And yet, there Madrid are anyway, sitting atop the league, undefeated and with more goals than anyone. 

The supporting cast, if you like, continues to deliver. Isco did so in the Madrid derby against Atletico, and Lucas Vazquez, Mateo Kovacic, Alvaro Morata, Nacho and Marco Asensio have done so at other times. It speaks of a system or a method embedding itself. The parts might change, but there's something there that doesn't: a resolve, an identity.

Zidane has led them here. Rarely have Madrid felt as united and as settled as they do under the club icon. In relative terms, he remains a novice, but he's one with a Champions League trophy in the cabinet and with victories in the Clasico and the Madrid derby already to his name.

The first of those in April was the take-off point for last season's late surge. The latter, just two weeks ago, heightened the feel that Zidane and Madrid are going somewhere. Another triumph on Saturday would confirm it. Zidane will say it's not decisive, but he'll privately know there's a power shift awaiting these two clubs if the points are taken back to the capital. 

That power shift wouldn't just be about points tallies, though. Barcelona are more capable than anyone of reining in a seemingly distant leader, but right now, Barcelona don't feel a lot like Barcelona. 

On Sunday, the Catalans were so comprehensively outplayed by Real Sociedad at Anoeta that manager Luis Enrique called his team's point a "miracle," per Samuel Marsden of ESPN FC. 

"It's the worst performance since I have been in charge. We didn't deserve the point we're taking back to Barcelona," he said. 

He was right. Real Sociedad battered Lucho's men like Lucho's men often do to others. La Real dominated the ball and the shot count, hit the woodwork twice and had a winner wrongly disallowed. More than anything, though, they didn't allow Barcelona to breath. 

The concern for Barcelona is that it wasn't a one-off; it's part of a trend. The men from the Camp Nou are drifting stylistically and tactically. Clashes against Sevilla, Manchester City, Valencia and Celta Vigo have shown it. The midfield that once surgically dissected teams isn't what it was, the defence is wobbling and too much now rests on the front three. 

After Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Hercules in the Copa del Rey, Luis Enrique said, per Marsden of ESPN FC, that "it is always difficult to create chances when there are so many players behind the ball. And when we don't have our usual forwards, it's even more complicated."

That's true, but it's also part of the problem. The system is no longer underpinning the talent; the talent is underpinning the system. Pass, move, pass, move, pass, move, pass, move: It's not there; not like it was.

As such, the questions of identity that have lingered around the club ever since Luis Enrique's arrival are now louder than ever. The adherence to the Barca principles is straying a little. The Cruyffist sheen is looking a bit chipped. 

It's striking to see these clubs as they are now. For most of the last decade, Barcelona have exuded a sense that they've known who they are better than Madrid. The idea that guides Barca has felt like a trump card in that respect, but there's something of a role reversal to these rivals at present. 

It's Zidane's Madrid who enter Saturday's Clasico with a stronger sense of self. In contrast, Barcelona enter it with concerns you don't typically associate with them—ones centring on the system, on the style and on the strength of the foundation. 

Madrid know all about those but now have a chance to push their rivals further down that path. For them, a nine-point gap would be massive. For Barcelona, getting it back to three would be equally so.

Clasicos in recent years haven't always felt decisive. This one looms as a little different.