It may be preseason, but a Clasico is still a Clasico, and Real Madrid and Barcelona are meeting in Texas as the two sides prepare for the start of the La Liga regular season next month. Barcelona have had a calm summer so far, with no significant signings planned, however Ousmane Dembele has lately been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain. The main change, of course, is that long-time defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets has moved on to Major League Soccer to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. Jordi Alba, the left defender, is expected to join them soon. Ilkay Gundogan has come from Manchester City to take Busquets’ position.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have already signed one big offseason target in Jude Bellingham, while Karim Benzema has gone, becoming one of the first players to lace up his boots in the Saudi Pro League this summer. Then there’s Kylian Mbappe, who is still a PSG player but who the club believes has already committed to join Real Madrid when his contract expires next summer.
Here are our stories, as well as information on how to watch the match:
What to look out for and the odds
• Saturday, July 29th | 5:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
• ESPN+ live stream
What to keep an eye out for
Real Madrid: With Benzema injured and no other big-name striker on the squad, Carlo Ancelotti has experimented with his two young Brazilian wingers, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, playing as forwards with Jude Bellingham as a 10 behind them. That’s the team he used in a 3-2 friendly win over Manchester United, and the formation he used in a 2-0 win over AC Milan in the first match of this trip (albeit without the two wingers beginning).
Barcelona has a lot of midfield issues. They’ve only played one preseason game, a 5-3 defeat to Arsenal. Gundogan began in midfield with new addition Oriol Romeo, who was the team’s most defensive midfielder. It is doubtful that the journeyman Romeo will be Barcelona’s first-choice option at the base of midfield, therefore the exact formation remains a mystery. Will we get any further hints on Saturday night?
Prediction
These preseason friendly don’t usually provide much defensive resistance, but don’t expect these sides to take each other lightly. A 2-2 tie would indicate that both of these teams are very similarly matched, and that both are likely still a step or two away from the shape they will take when the season begins.
More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/