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Barcelona and Real Madrid go head to head in a Liga F Clasico at the weekend, a game that has the potential to all but seal a fourth successive Spanish title for the Blaugrana.
Barcelona are 10 points clear of Real at the top of the table and a win would extend that gap to 13. The reigning champions have won 57 consecutive Liga F games since defeat to Atletico Madrid back in June 2021 and have collected maximum points in 81 of their last 82 outings in the competition.
Real Madrid have returned to being the closest (distant) challengers this season after a slight step backwards in 2021/22. But getting anything here is a tall order indeed.
Curiously, Bayern Munich are the only team to have beaten Barcelona in any competition this season and they have technically done it twice – once during the Champions League group stage and once during a pre-season mini-tournament that also included Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
When is kick off? Saturday 25 March, 15:15 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Estadi Johan Cruyff
TV channel/live stream? DAZN Women’s Football YouTube
In addition to Alexia Putellas, who continues to work her way back to fitness, Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey didn’t make the trip to Italy in midweek.
With work still to do to kill off the quarter-final tie against Roma, Jonatan Giraldez could take some chances to keep things fresh but may not veer too far away from his strongest XI.
Colombian teenager Linda Caicedo came off in the first half of Real’s last game last weekend, while Esther Gonzalez is likely to be recalled after starting on the bench for that shock defeat to Tenerife.
Kathellen Sousa and Rocio have been absent for more than a month.
Real Madrid have had an outstanding domestic season and could yet finish it with their first ever major trophy should they go all the way in the Copa de la Reina, a competition Barcelona have been expelled from until 2023/24 for fielding an ineligible player.
But Los Blancos are still no match for the Catalans, as shown in the 4-0 demolition in Madrid in the reverse fixture back in November – although a January Supercopa semi-final was much closer and went to extra-time. Real also come into this off the back of two games without a win that ended a run of 13 straight Liga F victories before that – including a home defeat to mid-table Tenerife.
Barcelona were wasteful with chances against Roma, dominating the contest as usual. It would be unusual for them to continue that profligacy into a second game here.
