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Real need to stop Messi in El Clasico

BARCELONA — Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid resume their El Clasico rivalry in La Liga at the Camp Nou tomorrow in a top-of-the table clash and sparks are expected to fly in a match second only to the Champions League final as the biggest in club football.

Stats for El Clasico

Stats for El Clasico

BARCELONA — Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid resume their El Clasico rivalry in La Liga at the Camp Nou tomorrow in a top-of-the table clash and sparks are expected to fly in a match second only to the Champions League final as the biggest in club football.

A point separates the two sides but after a run of 17 victories from their last 18 games, in which they have qualified for the King’s Cup final, the odds are tipped in the Catalan hosts’ favour.

They are also fresh from securing passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions League earlier this week, courtesy of a mesmerising Lionel Messi-inspired performance that gave them a 3-1 aggregate win over Premier League champions Manchester City.

While Messi has been the talisman, Luis Suarez and Neymar are also looking menacing in a potent three-pronged attack as Barca look to open the gap to Real that could be pivotal in deciding the title race.

“We are playing well but we cannot get carried away because there is a long way to go,” Messi told reporters earlier this week.

“We have some big games ... first against Madrid and then there are the quarter-finals (of the Champions League) where we will face another tough team.”

But Real arrive at the Camp Nou after accumulating just four points from a possible nine in their past three games in La Liga.

They scraped through the Champions League last 16, surviving a 3-4 defeat by Schalke to win 5-4 on aggregate. The second-leg defeat came after the German side caught Real napping in the second half.

If the Spanish giants are to make anything in their grudge match with Barca, they will need to play with intensity for 90 minutes and not just the first half, coach Carlo Ancelotti warned.

His warning came after their 2-0 home win over Levante through two first-half goals last Sunday. “We did that in one part of the match and on Sunday we need to do that for the whole match,” said the Italian.

“We played with confidence in the first half, the second worries me a bit. We were more relaxed and played a more horizontal game. We lacked verticality.”

Despite Barca having the edge on form, Messi said it could push their stuttering rivals to play beyond themselves.

“I have a lot of respect for Madrid. When they are in this situation it is when they are most dangerous,” added the Argentinian.

“They have great players. We will go out to play our football and look to win but at the same time we need to be wary of them as much as ever.”

The pressure to reverse their fortunes could be just the tonic Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Florentino Perez are looking for to help put to bed a tough period and race Barca to the title.

AGENCIES

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