Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos to do battle once again as Barcelona host Real Madrid in El Clasico

Aditya Devavrat 22:10 05/05/2018
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  • Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos

    The edge has ever so slightly been taken off of football’s biggest club derby, with Barcelona preparing to host Real Madrid having already been crowned La Liga champions.

    Both sides have little to play for, with Madrid’s focus on their upcoming Champions League final and their top four spot secure. Barcelona do have the chance to finish the first unbeaten season in Spanish league history since La Liga switched to a 38-game slate.

    But the ferocity of this rivalry never dims, and plenty of the stars on show will want to make a statement in the latest installment of El Clasico.

    TOP MARKSMEN

    Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo

    Messi has produced yet another season in which words fail to do him justice. That Barcelona are still unbeaten in the league is almost single-handedly down to his efforts, as he has dragged his side out of the jaws of defeat time after time this season.

    He’s also the king of the Clasico, having scored more goals than any other player in the fixture. It’s a clash he always relishes, with Sunday providing an opportunity to rub Barcelona’s domestic superiority in Madrid’s faces. Messi is always expected to produce magic, but Madrid bring out an entirely different trait in him: ruthlessness.

    It’s a testament to Ronaldo‘s form since the turn of the year that despite Messi’s status as the best player in La Liga this season, it’s the Real Madrid man who’s favoured to win the Ballon d’Or. That’s largely down to Madrid’s European form, as they’ve reached a third straight Champions League final while Barca crashed out in the quarter-finals, but it showcases Ronaldo’s perseverance.

    His hopes of winning the Pichichi are all but over, having scored eight fewer league goals than Messi, but that target will motivate him on Sunday. A goal or two is a reasonable expectation.

    Messi and Ronaldo renew their rivalry.

    Messi and Ronaldo renew their rivalry.

    CHIEF CREATORS

    Andres Iniesta vs Luka Modric

    It’s a grand occasion for Iniesta, his final Clasico, a chance to illuminate one last fixture against his bitter rivals. There’s been controversy surrounding the fact that Madrid aren’t giving Barcelona a guard of honour, but Zinedine Zidane has promised that his side will pay tribute to the departing midfielder in some way.

    What Barcelona will want more than accolades from their rivals is a parting gift from their legend, a farewell virtuoso performance. Iniesta is asked to do less and less in this Barcelona side, but with little to play for on Sunday, he should be set free to dominate this game.

    Madrid’s answer to Iniesta has seen a slight dip in form in comparison to the lofty standards of last season, when Modric and his colleagues Toni Kroos and Casemiro were considered the best midfield in the world. The Croat remains Madrid’s chief midfield creator, a responsibility that will carry greater importance on Sunday given Isco’s injury.

    Zidane has said this game, like Madrid’s other remaining league fixtures, will serve as a way to maintain intensity for the Champions League final. That’s the perfect approach for Modric, whose tribute to Iniesta could be a starring performance of his own.

    Modric is a worthy opponent for Iniesta in the latter's final Clasico.

    Modric is a worthy opponent for Iniesta in the latter’s final Clasico.

    BACK PROTECTION

    Gerard Pique vs Sergio Ramos

    All combatants in El Clasico always know the significance of the game, but nonetheless it seems to matter more to Pique than to anyone else, at least on his own side.

    He arguably provided the greatest motivation for Barcelona this season by remarking after his side’s Super Copa defeat to Madrid that this was the first time he’d felt inferior to Madrid.

    That will make Sunday’s fixture sweeter for him, as Madrid come to town with Barca already crowned champions, 15 points ahead of their rivals. It’s a chance for him to stick the boot in and re-establish Barcelona’s superiority.

    Ramos is the perfect foil for Pique, providing the same passion and, in the case of this fixture, disdain for the opposition his counterpart does for Barcelona.

    Even with a potential third straight Champions League title on its way, this will hurt for Ramos, leading his side out at the Camp Nou to face a team that already league champions and so far ahead of his own in the table.

    That pain will motivate him, not that Ramos can play any other way than his combination of elegant but no-holds-barred defender, plus wind-up artist. Shocking fact: he and Pique aren’t too different.

    Pique and Ramos are two sides of the same coin.

    Pique and Ramos are two sides of the same coin.

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