Real Madridvs.Barcelona

Carlo Ancelotti's side sit at the top of the table, eight points clear of second-placed Barcelona, so a victory for the hosts this weekend would allow them to open up an 11-point advantage with just six games left.

Barcelona therefore need to win in order to stay in the race, but the Catalan outfit will enter the match off the back of a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, which saw them eliminated 6-4 on aggregate.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, secured their spot in the semi-finals with a penalty-shootout victory over the holders Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Both sides will now switch their attention back to La Liga and the latest instalment of El Clasico.

There will be a number of the world's leading players on display on Saturday, and with that in mind, Sports Mole picks a combined XI from both squads, using only players available for the clash.

With Thibaut Courtois missing due to a serious knee injury, it was not a difficult decision to pick the goalkeeper in this side. Andriy Lunin has performed admirably this season and certainly deserves a mention, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen is one of the best stoppers in world football, and it was really tough to overlook him for the starting role in this particular XI.

Three of the back four are from Real Madrid, with Dani Carvajal given the nod over Jules Kounde and Joao Cancelo at right-back. Carvajal has again been outstanding for Los Blancos this season, making 35 appearances in all competitions, and the 32-year-old is fully deserving of a position in this team.

Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy also make it for Los Blancos; the former has made 39 appearances this season, while the latter has featured 32 times. Eder Militao could not be considered due to his injury issues, while Pau Cubarsi, as outstanding as he is, has not played enough to be named in this side.

Rudiger sails into the team in the middle of the defence, while Mendy is picked ahead of Cancelo, with the Portugal international playing a lot of football at left-back this year due to Alejandro Balde's injury.

Ronald Araujo makes it for Barcelona, with the Uruguay international developing into one of the best centre-backs in world football over the last year or so. The 25-year-old has made 33 appearances this season and simply could not be overlooked in the combined XI considering his quality.

The midfield was certainly more difficult to pick due to the options in that area of the field. Gavi would have been included had he been available, but the Spain international's season ended last November when he picked up a serious knee injury while representing the national side.

Pedri has recently returned from injury, though, and there had to be a spot for him in the side despite his relative lack of action this term, being restricted to just 27 appearances. The 21-year-old is central to Barcelona's game plan, and he has already shown his quality since returning to the side this month.

Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, has had an outstanding campaign, scoring 20 goals and registering 10 assists in 35 appearances in all competitions. The England international has been Real Madrid's most productive player this season, and it was simply impossible to leave him out of this XI.

The midfield is completed by Federico Valverde, who gets the nod over teammates Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, while Barcelona's Ilkay Gundogan and Frenkie de Jong also just miss out in an area full of quality. No player has featured on more occasions for Real Madrid this season than Valverde, with the Uruguay international turning out 45 times for the club, and his energy and work-rate makes him absolutely invaluable for Ancelotti's team.

The biggest decision in the final third of the field came at centre-forward, and Robert Lewandowski just misses out despite scoring 20 times in all competitions this season. The 35-year-old has again been in strong form, but it would also be fair to say that he has struggled for periods, and Rodrygo just gets the nod ahead of him.

The Brazilian has scored 17 goals and registered eight assists in 44 appearances for Real Madrid this season while operating in an unfamiliar position, having been asked to largely play through the middle. Rodrygo has come up with so many vital goals for Los Blancos and plays as the centre-forward in this side.

Vinicius Junior is also included, with the Brazilian in excellent form this season, scoring 18 goals and registering 10 assists in 31 appearances in all competitions. The 23-year-old is a slight fitness doubt at this stage due to a problem which he suffered against Man City, but he is expected to feature in El Clasico, and the South American is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in world football.

The lineup is completed by Raphinha, who gets in ahead of Barcelona teammates Lamine Yamal, Joao Felix and Ferran Torres, while Joselu and Brahim Diaz are among those overlooked for Real Madrid. Raphinha has had his injury problems this season but has contributed nine goals and 10 assists in 32 appearances, and the 27-year-old has been Barcelona's most productive attacker of late.

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