On the eve of the big game, the Malian footballer tell Rediff.com's Norma Godinho why Real Madrid are favourites and what is plaguing Barcelona this season.
Cristiano Ronald headed his 300th goal for Real Madrid in a laboured 2-0 La Liga victory at neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday that kept the gap on leaders Barcelona down to four points.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Lionel Messi marked his 300th La Liga appearance with a record-equalling hat-trick and an assist for Neymar as Barcelona stayed hard on the heels of leaders Real Madrid with a 5-0 romp at home to Levante on Sunday.
Real Madrid returned to winning ways after last weekend's drubbing at Atletico but failed to convince and were whistled by their own fans during a drab 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Barcelona first struggled to come to terms with their shock 4-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League last 16 first leg but have sparkled in their last two games and are daring to believe they can defy history by reaching the quarter-finals.
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
Manchester United are satisfied with their transfer business and under no pressure to sign a fourth player in the current window, manager Jose Mourinho said.
The three teams with 100 percent records in this season's Champions League can secure their places in the knockout stage this week with two games to spare.
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
IMAGES from La Liga matches played on Sunday
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Ligue 1 goal this season before missing a penalty as they beat En Avant Guingamp 3-0 to extend their lead to four points on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was the scourge of AS Roma again as he inspired the hosts to a 2-0 win and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, scoring and setting up a goal Rodriguez to seal a 4-0 aggregate victory.
A summary of Saturday's action in Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick and Gareth Bale became the fifth British player to score for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga when he struck twice in an action-packed 7-3 win over Sevilla on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Manchester United signed Chile forward Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan after a protracted transfer saga finally ended on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first five-goal haul in Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada while title-chasing Bayern Munich and Chelsea won again in Germany and England.
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In an exciting weekend for football lovers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their extraordinary double act, both scoring hat-tricks as Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their battle for supremacy at the top of La Liga. Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday but no-one can get the better of Bayern Munich, who marched on in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. We present a summary of events in photos.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich and Barcelona registered easy wins, while Manchester United came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and Chelsea surrendered the top spot after a 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
Neymar shrugged off some rough tackling and a missed penalty to score a brilliant solo goal as he led Brazil to a 3-0 win over Paraguay that moved them within sight of the 2018 World Cup finals on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An inexperienced Germany suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in a storm-affected friendly ahead of Euro 2016.
Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick.
Photographic summary of the football matches played across Spain, Italy and France
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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