"Sunday's Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid could be decided by any number of different factors. There might be a red card. A ball could hit the post for Barcelona and bounce out; a ball could hit the post for Real Madrid and bounce in. Barca's high-press under Hansi Flick could overwhelm a Madrid side that couldn't handle it last season. Or Barca's high-press could fall apart the way it did against Sevilla a few weeks ago."
"Perhaps Madrid's more controlled tactics under Xabi Alonso will frustrate the chaos Barcelona typically likes to create. Or maybe a slow and methodical approach just won't work in such an emotionally charged environment. It certainly didn't in the Madrid derby. Maybe Trent Alexander-Arnold comes back from injury, and it saves Real Madrid. Maybe Alexander-Arnold comes back from injury and it saves Barcelona."
"Soccer is a complex, dynamic and ever-changing game where everything is connected and interdependencies determine every outcome. That is true, but also: Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal are playing in this game. We've waited seven years, but El Clasico sure seems as if it has its new version of Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi. Neither player is as good as those two -- yet -- but they're two superstars who symbolize the current era of their clubs."
Sunday's Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid can be decided by many variables, from red cards to a ball hitting the post. Barcelona's high press under Hansi Flick can overwhelm Real Madrid or collapse as it did versus Sevilla. Real Madrid's more controlled tactics under Xabi Alonso might frustrate Barcelona's chaotic approach, though a slow methodical game may fail in the charged atmosphere. Availability of players like Trent Alexander-Arnold could swing the outcome for either side. Soccer is highly interconnected and unpredictable. Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal stand out as the era's twin superstars, with Mbappé a recent free-agent signing and Yamal a La Masia teenager already among Ballon d'Or favorites.
Read at ESPN.com
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