Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Six things still at stake in El Clásico
Tonight's Clásico at the Camp Nou comes around with Barça already champions and Real with one eye on Kiev. But there are still things to play for... USA vs Mexico: FIFA Friendly live online
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With Barcelona already confirmed as domestic double winners and Real Madrid looking forward to the Champions League final, the pair meet tonight in a clash in which you'd be forgiven for thinking that there is absolutely nothing to play for, bar the glory of victory over the old enemy.
However, there are still a few things at stake at the Camp Nou: LaLiga's top scorer award, the Golden Shoe, the league's best goalkeeper, players' futures...
European Golden Shoe
Lionel Messi is in the midst of the battle to win the Golden Shoe, given to the season's leading marksman in European league football. After his hat-trick at Deportivo La Coruña last time out, the Barça ace leads the way on 32 goals, one ahead of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. They are followed by Ciro Immobile, Robert Lewandowski and Mauro Icardi, who are three, four and five behind Messi, respectively.
Trofeo Pichichi
Messi's haul of 32 LaLiga goals places him eight ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the Argentine's nearest challenger in the race to scoop the Trofeo Pichichi as this term's top scorer in Primera División.
Follow live build-up to the Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid
Trofeo Zamora
Barcelona's Marc-André ter Stegen is fighting to claim the Trofeo Zamora, which is awarded each season to the LaLiga goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals (in a minimum of 28 appearances). A clean sheet against Real would be just the ticket for Ter Stegen, who currently trails Atlético Madrid's Jan Oblak, who has let in 18 goals in 34 games, compared to the German's 21 in 34.
Barcelona's unbeaten league season
Nobody has beaten Barcelona in the top flight in 2017/18. Ernesto Valverde's side have registered 26 wins and eight draws, dropping just four points at home (in stalemates against Celta Vigo and Getafe). This is Real Madrid's chance to shatter their arch rivals' dream of achieving a feat last managed way back in the 1930s - and, as their recent results at the Camp Nou show, Zinedine Zidane's men seem to be a better bet when facing Barça on the road...
Second place in LaLiga
Second-placed Atlético Madrid sit four points ahead of Real in third, having played one game more than their near neighbours. A positive result at the Camp Nou would appear to be crucial to Los Merengues' hopes of finishing ahead of Diego Simeone's side and securing capital bragging rights.
Several players' futures...
There are several players on both sides whose futures are uncertain. At Real Madrid, the headliners are Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. The Frenchman offered a reminder of his credentials by scoring twice against Bayern Munich in midweek, while Bale has slipped right down Zidane's pecking order - a state of affairs that was evidenced by his failure to start either game of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern, or the first leg at Juventus in the previous round.
Meanwhile, the likes of Dani Ceballos, Marcos Llorente, Jesús Vallejo, Borja Mayoral and Achraf Hakimi must, if called upon, show that they can deal with the pressure and rise to the occasion of a fixture like the Clásico.
At Barcelona, Denis Suárez is currently being tracked by a number of clubs in case he leaves the Camp Nou this summer, while Lucas Digne, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal and Paco Alcácer are also in the frame to depart the Catalan giants. A good Clásico showing could help them turn that situation around.
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