El Clasico may not mean much this year, with Barcelona having opened up a 10-point lead on Real Madrid atop La Liga.
Or El Clasico may mean much more than usual. If Real Madrid win and get a few bad Barcelona results they could be right back in this thing.
Real Madrid have been awful this season, considering the expectations that were heaped on them during pre-season. We thought they had a shot at being one of the best club sides ever, even aiming for invincibility. Instead, they have been extremely vincible, dropping points to Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Levante, Real Betis and Girona.
They've put themselves in such a position that even winning both matches against Barcelona won't be enough, they'll need to catch fire and hope Barcelona screw up somewhere along the way. To make matters worse, Sergio Ramos suffered a broken nose during Saturday's Madrid derby and faces a spell on the sideline.
Real Madrid's biggest problem right now, though, is its misfiring offense. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have just two league goals between them. That is just not good enough for ostensibly two of the best players in the world. Plus, Ronaldo lost a 50-50 sprint to Juanfran on Saturday.
Think about that.
Juanfran.