Balague’s key men for Clasico

Ahead of El Clasico at the Nou Camp on Saturday, Sky Sports’ Spanish expert Guillem Balague picks his key players to watch.

The biggest game in Spanish football is often decided by individuals, but which six players should we be keeping an eye on come Saturday afternoon?

You can watch El Clasico on a delayed broadcast from 5.15pm on Sky Sports 2.

Marcelo – Real Madrid

For me, he is the most influential offensive player for Real Madrid. Obviously Cristiano Ronaldo scores the goals, Gareth Bale has also been crucial in important moments this season, but I’ve got a feeling that it’s Marcelo who creates havoc in an organised defence and opens them up. 

Among the Real team, Marcelo has had the fourth highest dribble rate in La Liga this season at 1.3 per game, only slightly bettered by Bale (1.4). He has also made the fourth highest number of key passes of regular players – doing so 1.3 times per game – bettered only by Bale, Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos.

He sometimes acts not so much as a winger but sometimes appears as a No 9, I’ve seen him there and at No 10, No 7 and No 3. Putting aside David Alaba’s transformation under Pep Guardiola, Marcelo is the ultimate modern full-back. A box full of surprises.

He appears when he is least expected with quality, has got the vision to find team-mates, and he can also score. He has got everything rivals fear and it makes him one of the most influential players with Bale and Ronaldo this season.

He has improved defensively with the years, and he is maturing now to be one of the best left-backs in the world.

But he is not perfect. The cons are that he is a danger defending sometimes, not so much one-on-one, but certainly he loses his positions if the ball comes from the other side, so a cross from the left-hand side is not always well defended by him, he is not always in the right position.

He is also a risk at times with his passing – short passing from the back especially – but he hardly ever loses the ball on the dribble, even when he dribbles when he shouldn’t. His Brazilian soul has never abandoned him. 

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – Barcelona

He is absolutely essential to the build-up of Barcelona because he is represents one more player to play with the ball, but he has been making a lot of mistakes.

Now he doesn’t risk so much, especially after making a mistake against Celta which cost Barcelona. His short passing has improved, playing more accurate short passes than any regular goalkeeper in La Liga, with nearly 20 per game.

The pros are that Barcelona need to have that kind of goalkeeper and the cons of course are that now he has to find balance between the risk, and the necessity to play from the back. He is very aware that he has to absorb pressure, keeping the ball, attracting the rival, because by doing that the forward leaves the space which can be used by others.

Luka Modric – Real Madrid

He …

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