Madrid gears up to cut Barcelona’s lead ahead of Clasico clash

Yusuf calls up Gift Orban, 15 others after Olympic Eagles age scandal

Today, one of the biggest matches on the football calendar will take place at Camp Nou, with La Liga leaders Barcelona hosting second-placed Real Madrid for El Clasico which has been overshadowed by “Caso Negreira”.

Barca have been charged with corruption by Spanish prosecutors

for payments between 2001 and 2018 to the company of former refereeing chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, totalling around 7.3 million euros ($7.8 million).

Real Madrid are nine points behind Barcelona in the table heading into this match, thus a win for the home team would put them on track to capture their first

La Liga title since 2019.

Barcelona has had to watch Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid win La Liga in the last three seasons, but the Catalan club is currently in first place, with a nine-point lead over the reigning champions heading into the next El Clasico.

Ancelotti’s side’s away form this season has been strong, picking up 28 points from 13 matches, while they have dominated the recent league meetings between the two sides, winning five of their last six in Spain’s top flight.

Barcelona have not actually beaten Real Madrid at Camp Nou in La Liga since October 2018, while Los Blancos were 3-1 winners in the reverse fixture at Bernabeu earlier this season.