Rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid will play their final El Clásico of the season on Sunday at the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys.
The match will be held in the 35th round of the Spanish League, amid a fierce battle for the title, with Barça leading the standings with 79 points, four points ahead of their rivals.
Barça coach Hansi Flick is keen to clinch the title by defeating Real Madrid, extending the lead to seven points with three rounds remaining in La Liga.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is looking to make a significant impact as he nears his departure from the club by reducing the gap to one point, then awaiting a reward in the remaining rounds to seize the top spot and claim the title.
This season has seen three meetings between the two teams in three different competitions, all of which ended in Barcelona wins.
Barça thrashed their rivals 4-0 in the first round of La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu before defeating them 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.
Last April, the two rivals met in the Copa del Rey final, with Barcelona winning 3-2.
Cup El Clásico
The Copa del Rey final was different from the previous two meetings between the two rivals, with Barça performing at a slightly lower level than usual against Real Madrid this season.
Merengue, on the other hand, showed a different side, especially at the start of the second half, coming from a goal down to lead 2-1, before Barça equalized and then scored the winning goal in extra time.
How can Real Madrid benefit from the Copa del Rey?
The Copa del Rey final confirmed once again that relying on Lucas Vázquez as a right-back is not beneficial for the team at all, which may prompt Ancelotti to correct his repeated mistake by relying on Fede Valverde this time.
Arda Güler's brilliance as soon as he came on at the start of the second half, transforming Real Madrid's performance, could be leveraged by giving him the opportunity to start instead of Rodrygo today.
This is in addition to Kylian Mbappé's introduction to the Clásico atmosphere in the last match, making a difference as soon as he came on as a substitute despite not being fully fit due to injury.
Midfield Battle
Flick's reliance on Ferran Torres at the center of the attack instead of Robert Lewandowski in the last Clásico paid off during the match, as the Spaniard scored the equalizer before the end of regulation time.
It is possible to capitalize on Torres' brilliance by fielding him in the starting lineup despite Lewandowski's recovery and return from injury.
The Polish striker's recent absence from the field and his lack of form during his participation against Inter Milan in the Champions League may prompt Flick to keep him on the bench in favor of the Spanish striker.
Flick could also benefit from the Copa del Rey Clásico by adding a third midfielder to the squad alongside Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.
The last Clásico saw Real Madrid dominate in midfield, while Barça lost that battle. Flick could remedy this by deploying Gavi alongside his usual midfield duo.