El Clásico (Feat. Paco Polit)

Arsenal-Liverpool, the Derby d’Italia, Le Classique…it’s a serious Football Weekend. But all that takes a back seat to the big one: El Clásico, REAL MADRID vs BARCELONA, the premier grudge match in world football. Nobody does technical quality and steaming spite quite like these two, and the storylines abound heading into this 258th meeting of Spain's great powers.

One Brazilian from each side—Vinicius Jr. for Madrid, Raphinha for Barça—scored a hat trick in the Champions League in midweek. They're two of the form players in Europe, with Vini a strong bet to take home the Ballon d'Or in a couple months' time, but there's also the 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal and some guy named Kylian Mbappé playing his first Clásico. It's an embarrassment of riches in the forward positions for both these sides—and in midfield, too: Barcelona have added EURO 2024 standout Dani Olmo to academy starlets Pedri and Gavi in the engine room, and could we see 39-year-old Luka Modrić in there on the other side next to Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham?

The matchups everywhere are mouthwatering, and joining us to preview the match is Paco Polit of La Liga Lowdown. He explained how Barcelona have changed under new coach Hansi Flick and how the German has got Robert Lewandowski firing again, with 12 of their astonishing 33 goals already this season; how Madrid remain inevitable in the Champions League, if not La Liga, under Don Carlo Ancelotti; and why fans of Los Blancos aren't overly taken with Mbappé's performances after so many years of speculation that he'd join the club. We also spared a minute to discuss the reports this week that La Liga is angling to stage a Barcelona-Atlético Madrid match in Miami, and the unfortunate fate of Paco's Valencia CF.

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