El Clasico, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ter Stegen | Top 5 Barca

1. The Barcelona Podcast Clasico Special

In Episode 53 of The Barcelona Podcast, Francesc and Dan analyse all things El Clasico including key players, formation tweaks, off-the-pitch politics and more! The hosts then go on to discuss Griezmann, FIFA complaints, goal-line technology, Barca B and Barca Femeni and close the show with their traditional Ronda of Quick-Fire Listener Questions. Episode 53 of ‘The Barcelona Podcast’ starts right here!

2. Barcelona face Real Madrid in El Clasico with nothing to lose | Barcablog.com

I honestly can’t wait another second until the ball starts rolling in El Clasico. Currently on a 24-game unbeaten run, Barca have nothing to lose when the visit the Bernabeu on Saturday. While a defeat wouldn’t be a huge disaster, a hypothetical victory would almost certainly knock Real Madrid out of the race for La Liga. With that in mind, it is unquestionable that Valverde’s men should be decisively pushing for a win from the very first minute. More here.

3. Real Madrid must absolutely beat Barcelona | The Independent

For a coach, one of the many things that makes the clásico a fixture different in scale to virtually any other club game is that you start preparing for the next one from the moment the last one has finished. That’s how consuming it is. You have questions about what you could have done differently, start scrutinising what the opposition did differently, down to the very finest details. There’s naturally so much second-guessing, as you think of how to respond to what happened, but also offer something new the next time. I recognise it so well from my time working with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, up against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. More here.

4. Ronaldo, Ter Stegen form key for El Clasico | ESPN

“Words can’t really describe the clasico,” said Sergio Ramos. “It is the biggest game in the world.” No match has what this has, both off and on the pitch, a game that is mercilessly hyped and then has a happy habit of only going and living up to that hype, which makes some sense when you consider the players they have. Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Andres Iniesta, Ramos, Gerard Pique, Isco, Jordi Alba, Asensio, Sergio Busquets, Gareth Bale and those two. More here.

5. Did General Franco help Real Madrid thrash Barcelona 11-1?

The Clasico has a uniquely rich and varied history. From extraordinary exhibitions to controversial clashes, Real Madrid against Barcelona, football’s most famous fixture, has seen it all. In short, the Clasico never fails to generate talking points. However, there are some things that some people do not want to remember. The biggest ever scoreline between the two sides is a particularly touchy subject in both Catalunya and Madrid. More here.

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The Barcelona Podcast is brought to you by Francesc Tomas (as seen in ESPN, The Guardian) and Dan Hilton (Barcablog). Listen in for the hottest breaking stories from the Camp Nou!