As El Clasico nears, Jose Mourinho moves closer and closer to the biggest test his team has faced yet this season. While it is Barcelona who are coming off a defeat midweek, it is the men in white who are under pressure to win.
The momentum may transiently be in Los Blancos’ favor, but the fact of the matter remains that Barcelona are already a staggering six points ahead of Real Madrid and a win on Sunday will make that gap nine points.
From Real Madrid’s perspective, winning the Clasico is almost a non-negotiable if they are to stay alive in the title race, and stopping Barcelona’s red-hot attack will be critical in achieving that objective.
The one dilemma
The defense is Mourinho’s biggest dilemma. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
As reported by MARCA in a recent update, Mourinho has decided on nine of the eleven starters against Barcelona and has a clear plan in place to tackle the Catalans’ dominance on the ball.
The only doubt that remains, however, is who should start at centre-back, and those remain the only two undecided positions at this point.
Raul Asencio is the only unavailable centre-back at this point in time, and the manager has Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konate, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militão to choose from. The Brazilian remains an outside option given his recent return from a long-term injury.
Between Huijsen, Konate and Rudiger, Mourinho’s choice is complicated. After all, the Konate-Rudiger duo has shown promising signs of coordination and understanding, but Huijsen is the player the team needs on the field to ensure ball control and to trigger counters.
Whether the manager prioritizes the ball-playing ability or the brute physicality, in that sense, remains to be seen.
A red-hot attack
Huijsen’s ball-playing ability will be key. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Regardless of the combination that starts, it is crucial that Real Madrid defend as a unit against Barcelona, simply because the Catalans have immense attacking firepower.
All signs point to Hansi Flick deploying his best XI against Real Madrid, and that will include Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon, all of whom are individual pressing machines.
Added to that, the bench strength in Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus, and the midfield control that Rodri and Pedri provide, point to a game where Real Madrid will be forced to chase after the ball for long periods.
Keeping a strong defensive pairing that can also play the ball out under pressure, in that sense, becomes the single most important decision for the manager.