With seven games remaining in La Liga, Real Madrid sit eight points behind their rivals Barcelona. In Saturday's match, the first Clasico in a series of four over the coming weeks, Los Blancos have an opportunity to bring themselves back into the title race.
Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona 2011, El Clasico: Los Blancos Last Chance To Make La Liga Title Race Interesting
Of course, it still could very much be over. The chances of Barcelona failing to win in two of their remaining six games after the Clasico seem quite thin. Then again, with the teams playing four times in three weeks, a Real Madrid win or two could seriously affect Barcelona mentally.
Barcelona will be likely missing three players on Saturday, giving them some depth issues at central defense or defensive midfielder, depending on how you want to look at it. Javier Mascherano is out due to suspension, while Eric Abidal is still out after the removal of a benign tumor from his liver. Carles Puyol is questionable, but with many more Clasicos on the horizon, it seems unlikely that Pep Guardiola would risk his captain's health.
Real Madrid are only missing Lassana Diarra, meaning Jose Mourinho will be able to select his first choice XI. It could be the first time in a long time that we see Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo both 100 percent fit and playing together in a massive match.
The match kicks off at 9 pm local time, 4 pm ET from Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. It can be seen in the United States on ESPN2 or ESPN3.com. Stay tuned to this page for pre-match coverage and updates throughout the game.
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