Real Madrid, led by manager Zinedine Zidane, will be making a trip to Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday for the first Clasico of the season. With consecutive six wins on the trot in La Liga, Zidane's side is looking ready to steal the spotlight in the all-important fixture. The team has left behind its days of uncertainty when the French manager was accused for his lack of ability to win matches after four consecutive draws earlier in the season. The 3-0 victory in the derby against Atletico Madrid has stamped authority of dominance for the Los Blancos. The team sits nicely on the top of the La Liga table, six points away from the second placed Barcelona. Zidane's side has already extended its unbeaten streak to 32 games and is on its way to beat the La Liga record held by Barcelona (39 games in 2015-16). Cristiano Ronaldo's recent surge in form is another big boost to Real Madrid. The Portuguese winger has scored eight goals in last five La Liga fixtures, including a hat-trick against a defensively strong Atletico. He has surpassed Lionel Messi as the leading goal scorer of the competition with 10 goals in his kitty. In the absence of Gareth Bale, who has suffered an ankle injury, Ronaldo is likely to play the key role for Madrid. Contrasting campaigns Barcelona's campaign on the other hand has taken a turn towards the wrong side. The Catalans are finding it hard to put the ball behind the nets and are losing out points against considerably weaker oppositions. The La Liga game last week against Real Sociedad at Anoeta saw Barcelona being completely dominated by the home side. Even though Messi was able to cancel out William Jose's opener and earn a point, it was a game that La Real deserved to win. The substitute Juanmi scored a brilliant goal to give Sociedad the lead with just 14 minutes to go but was incorrectly ruled offside. Barcelona did not score a single shot in the first half and by the end of the game had only 48% ball possession. Manager Luis Enrique described it as the 'worst' performance under his reign. To add to their woes, Barcelona also dropped points this week against a much less recognised club Hercules in Copa Del Rey game, even though the Catalans were playing their B-team. Two Consecutive draws on the way to Clasico are bound to demotivate them. The injury woes hit Real Madrid hard before the Clasico as Bale, Toni Kroos and Alvaro Morata were all ruled out of the much anticipated contest; though Casemiro's return to training is still a positive sign for Zidane's side. Even with the momentum in his corner, the French manager is not likely to take the threat of Barcelona lightly. The returning midfielder Andres Iniesta, who missed out a month of football due to a knee ligament injury, can also play a major role in the coming fixture for Barcelona. Enrique's side will feel much more confident in the mid-field with the experienced captain, who has already participated in 32 Clasicos before. The Barcelona fans will be hoping that Real's injury concerns and Iniesta's return could prove to be Madrid's downfall and Barcelona could pull off an 'upset'.
