What to look out for in El Clasico

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Carlo Ancelotti and Hansi FlickImage source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Can Carlo Ancelotti (l) finally get one over on Hansi Flick (r) in Clasico and reignite the title race?

Emlyn Begley

BBC Sport journalist

Barcelona and Real Madrid go head-to-head on Sunday in a late-season El Clasico with huge ramifications for the title race.

Madrid need a win to strengthen hope of giving Carlo Ancelotti a farewell trophy.

Barca will hope this is the final Clasico at their temporary Olympic Stadium home - with the Nou Camp set to reopen next season.

BBC Sport looks at some of the talking points.

Title race on the line

Top six in La Liga

Barcelona lead Real Madrid by four points at the top of the La Liga table with four games left.

A Barca win would take them to the brink of the title... but a Madrid win would really open the door again.

Two of Barcelona's final three games are against teams in the Champions League places - Villarreal at home and Athletic Bilbao away.

Tenth-placed Mallorca are the highest team in the table who Madrid have left to play.

Barca have been this season's entertainers, with 91 La Liga goals - to Real's 69.

Ancelotti's last Clasico?

This is likely to be the final Clasico for legendary Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

The 65-year-old Italian was in charge of Real from 2013 to 2015 before taking over for a second time in 2021.

Ancelotti is the first person to lead Madrid to 15 trophies as a manager - including three Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.

This is his final chance to make it 16.

Nothing official has been announced but it is widely expected he will step down at the end of the season - probably before June's Fifa Club World Cup.

Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to replace him after a successful spell in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.

Can Flick complete Clasico clean sweep?

Hansi Flick has had an impressive first season in charge at Barcelona - including two trophies coming in Clasicos.

The German could make it four wins from four Clasicos on Sunday.

Barcelona won 4-0 at the Bernabeu in their first league meeting of the season in October.

They met again in January in the Spanish Super Cup final in January - with Barca winning 5-2, despite having goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny sent off in the 56th minute.

And in late April, Barca won 3-2 in extra time in Seville to lift the Copa del Rey.

Can Yamal or Mbappe take centre stage?

Kylian Mbappe and Lamine YamalImage source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal are two of the most likely goal threats in El Clasico

Plenty has been said about Lamine Yamal's impact this season - especially in their Champions League run to the semi-finals where they lost a thriller to Inter Milan.

The Spain right winger, aged just 17, has set up 21 goals in all competitions for Barca this season - and scored 14 himself.

In his three Clasicos this season, he has two goals and two assists.

Mbappe, who was once the 17-year-old the world was talking about, has had a similarly prolific campaign in his first season at Real Madrid.

The France captain, now 26, has scored 35 goals in all competitions. In La Liga, he trails in the Golden Boot race by one goal to Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski - 24 goals to 25.

Can Bellingham rediscover Clasico golden touch?

Last season, his first at Real Madrid, England's Jude Bellingham was the king of El Clasico.

Madrid won three out of three, including the Spanish Super Cup final, and Bellingham was the hero in both La Liga wins.

In October, Bellingham scored a 30-yard equaliser and then an injury-time volley in a 2-1 win.

And in April he netted a last-minute winner in a 3-2 Clasico thriller at the Bernabeu.

This season he has still been on good form, with 13 goals - but none in El Clasico and a far cry from last season's 23-goal title-winning heroics.

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