“Bale again on the bench,” says Peter Van. “What’s your take on Bale’s woes? He was hired as Real’s successor to Ronaldo; those are impossible shoes to fill, but Bale certainly seemed to have the potential to be a superstar. But his last couple of seasons have been a disaster. Is it just a mental block? Injury problems? Is it, as they seem to believe in Spain, that he just doesn’t care that much?”
It’s probably a bit of everything. The last two years have been terrible, as you say, and I’ve no idea why he didn’t leave last summer. But I suspect history will be kinder to his overall Real career.
Team news
Two changes apiece. Marcelo and Toni Kroos return for Real, with Ferland Mendy and Luka Modric dropped. Jordi Alba and Arthur are back for Barcelona in place of Junior Firpo and Ivan Rakitic. The new signing Martin Braithwaite is on the bench.
Real Madrid (4-3-3) Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Kroos; Isco, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Substitutes: Areola, Militao, Modric, Bale, Lucas Vazquez, Mendy, Mariano.
Barcelona (4-3-3) ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; de Jong, Busquets, Arthur; Vidal, Messi, Griezmann.
Substitutes: Neto, Rakitic, Lenglet, Braithwaite, Junior, Collado, Ansu Fati.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Real Madrid v Barcelona in La Liga. El Clasico may not have the glamour or quality of its recent golden age, but the stakes are as high as ever. One of these teams will win La Liga this season, and tonight’s result may ultimately decide which one.
Barcelona are two points clear of Real with 13 games to go. This match, in all probability, is Madrid’s season entire. They are out of the Copa del Rey and almost certainly on their way out of the Champions League. They had regrouped impressively under Zinedine Zidane, having had such a desperate 2018-19, but defeats to Levante and Manchester City in the past week have set them back a long way.
They still have every chance of beating a Barcelona side that have been diminished by injuries and infighting. Jordi Alba is back in the squad for tonight’s game, though, and the controversial signing Martin Braithwaite could make his debut.
Kick off is at 8pm GMT, 9pm in Madrid.
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