FC Barcelona are set to now face off against Real Madrid at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. So far, the pre-season tour of the United States of America has seen the Catalan giants only face off against one opponent. Fortunately for Barcelona, that first game against Man City resulted in victory for the team from Spain.
This time around, however, they face a very formidable foe that will be led by the ever-cunning Carlo Ancelotti. While this game will not exactly be a complete season-defining match, it sets a good idea of where both participating teams currently stand and identifies weaknesses for them.
After all, any El Clasico is worth winning whether it’s a friendly or an official game. The players have never been shy when it comes to this fixture and brawls have ended up taking place between them even during friendly encounters. This time around, it is not expected that the two Spanish opponents will be taking it lightly either.
In terms of form, Barcelona have won both their first two friendly games during this pre-season. The first win came against UE Olot behind closed doors, and the second came against Manchester City on penalties during the tour to the United States of America.
As for their last four official games, Barcelona have four wins out of four games. Victories over the likes of Real Sociedad, Almeria, Rayo Vallecano, and Sevilla were ones guaranteed by the Catalan giants before they closed off their official campaign last time around.
For Real Madrid, on the other hand, the last four official games saw two draws and two victories. The last of those four games resulted in a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final. Coming into this game, however, Los Blancos are equipped with even more firepower.
Unfortunately, Barça do not have the liberty to have access to all of their star players for this game. Lamine Yamal is still on vacation, while other key players such as Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie De Jong, and Ronald Araujo are still in the process of recovering from their respective injuries.
Other key players such as Fermin Lopez and Pau Cubarsi are currently playing in the Olympics. As they continue their quest towards Olympic gold, Barcelona will have to continue working on their pre-season tour with a lot of their crucial pieces still missing.
