La Liga: El Clasico comes on Saturday evening with both sides eager for a win
- Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season on Saturday
- Both sides registered disappointing league losses last weekend and will be hoping to amend this
- Real Madrid will be hoping the captain Sergio Ramos will be ready to start against their arch-rivals
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19
El Clasico comes on Saturday evening with both sides eager to win.
It was a disappointing weekend for these two Spanish giants as they each lost their last league games – Barcelona losing 1-0 to Getafe as Real Madrid were shocked by newly promoted Cardiz CF.
While the Catalans picked a comprehensive win in their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night against Ferencvaros, Real Madrid suffered another setback, losing 3-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the 245th competitive El Clasico, a win will be a must for both sides who will be seeking more than bragging rights.
Barcelona
Barcelona have a sole victory from their last five league home Clasico clashes – drawing thrice and losing once, despite opening the scoring four times.
Lionel Messi will lead from the front in his 43rd clash against Madrid. The diminutive forward will be hoping to end the duck having failed to score against the side since 2018.
Playing behind him is Phillipe Coutinho who is showing shades of his old-Liverpool self. The Brazilian has netted twice in this campaign and will be looking to keep his form when they host their rivals.
Frenkie de Jong will need to pick him up when he bursts forward and produce a couple of his own attacking incursions. The Dutchman is yet to hit the form he enjoyed at Ajax but looks to be finding his feet in Spain.
Real Madrid
The defending champions will be hoping to put the two-match losing streak to a halt when they travel to the Nou Camp.
Zinedine Zidane will be hoping that his skipper Sergio Ramos will make it to the clash having missed their clash with Shakhtar Donestsk with a knee injury.
With Eden Hazard still out, Vinicius Jnr will be the man to provide the spark from the left-wing. His goal decided the previous clash between the sides and will be hoping to replicate his performances when he made a cameo against Shakhtar on Wednesday, scoring within seconds of being in the pitch.
