Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Racing Santander in the Primera Liga on Saturday, leaving new coach Pep Guardiola still seeking his first league win at the helm. Lionel Messi came off the bench in the second half to inspire a toothless Barca, who lost 1-0 at Numancia in their season opener, and scored a 71st minute penalty.
Following is a factbox detailing key numbers around Spain's El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The arch rivals meet at Barca's Nou Camp stadium in La Liga on Saturday in a match that could decide the destination of the title. Real have a four-point lead with five games left.
Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
superb diving header from Cesc Fabregas earned Barcelona a 3-1 win at Real Madrid on Saturday that lifted the champions above their bitter rivals to the top of La Liga.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has decided to rest Lionel Messi, Neymar and most of his regulars for the King's Cup last 16, second leg match at Elche later on Thursday.
Barcelona still have very little chance of catching leaders Real Madrid and securing a fourth successive La Liga title despite closing the gap to eight points, coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday.
Atletico Madrid fell to their heaviest league defeat of the season
Barcelona's rescheduled La Liga game at home to Real Madrid is set to take place on December 18 as both clubs came to an agreement after the match, due to be played on October 26, was postponed amid violent political demonstrations in Catalonia.
Liverpool's Slot not nervous ahead of Anfield debut
Striker Samuel Eto'o scored a sparkling double as Barcelona rallied from a goal down to beat Getafe in the Primera Liga.
Barcelona's Champions League humbling by Bayern Munich on Wednesday will not prompt wholesale changes to the squad and the 7-0 aggregate reverse would have been avoided had the team not been decimated by injury, coach Tito Vilanova said.
Lionel Messi scored two wonder goals as European champions Barcelona thrashed Brazil's Santos 4-0 to win their second Club World Cup in two years on Sunday.
Iniesta has spent all of his senior career at Barcelona and is their most decorated player ever along with Lionel Messi, having lifted 31 trophies, which is soon to be 32 if Barca clinch the Liga title on Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna.
Barcelona's bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Barcelona are still trying to lure Paris St Germain centre back Thiago Silva to the Nou Camp but will look elsewhere if they fail to snare the Brazil international, coach Tito Vilanova said on Tuesday.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive King's Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.
Barcelona can no longer afford to shell out huge sums in transfer fees for top players like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, coach Xavi Hernandez said.
European soccer's governing body UEFA has fined Barcelona 30,000 euros ($33,006) after fans displayed pro-Catalan independence flags at last month's Champions League final in Berlin.
Real Madrid's early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Barcelona twice came from behind to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw at Valencia while Real Madrid dropped points again in a goalless affair at Racing Santander in La Liga on Wednesday.
The Barca coach said the squad is in a good place both mentally and physically and very motivated to take the field.
Barcelona moved six points clear at the top of La Liga by easing to a 4-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday with doubles from Luis Suarez and Paulinho ahead of next week's 'Clasico' against champions Real Madrid.
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said he felt "privileged" after scoring four goals against Deportivo La Coruna to move ahead of Brazilian Ronaldo's tally of 48 goals in a season for the club.
Barcelona's Champions League match at AC Milan on Wednesday will be a poignant affair for interim coach Jordi Roura as he returns to the stadium where he suffered an injury that ultimately forced him to end his career.
Suarez moved ahead of Ronaldo as the league's top scorer on 34 goals after netting four times, twice with penalties, in the space of 25 second-half minutes
A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Saturday.
Barcelona closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Lionel Messi scored one goal, created two and conceded a penalty in a 3-1 win at home to champions Atletico Madrid on Sunday that eased pressure on under-fire coach Luis Enrique.
Barcelona will lodge a second appeal against the dismissal of coach Tito Vilanova in Sunday's 2-1 win at Osasuna after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) rejected an initial effort and suspended the coach for two games on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a 4-0 home win over Getafe on Tuesday, denying leaders Barcelona the chance to win the La Liga title without kicking a ball.
Barcelona are suing Neymar for 8.5 million euros for alleged breach of contract and demanding he return the loyalty bonus paid after he renewed his deal in October, less than a year before he signed for Paris St. Germain, the club said Tuesday.
When the dust has settled on Wednesday's shock Champions League exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid, one question that will be on the lips of many Barcelona fans is: where was Lionel Messi?
Leaders Barcelona and second-placed Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Real Madrid's stumble on Sunday, Barca winning 4-0 at Levante and Atletico thumping visiting Sevilla by the same scoreline at the Calderon.
Paco Alcacer enjoyed a rare outing for Barcelona by scoring twice in the club's 2-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Angry Barcelona coach Luis Enrique blamed stupid mistakes after the La Liga pacesetters threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. Barca have drawn their last two games in La Liga and could see Atletico Madrid draw level with them if they beat Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, ahead of their trip to the Club World Cup in Japan next week.
Lionel Messi scored his 650th goal for Barcelona while Antoine Griezmann struck the winner in a 2-1 home success over Athletic Bilbao
Chelsea's new signing Pedro has said he took a "gamble" by leaving Spanish champions Barcelona after eight successful years, but one driven by his desire for more playing time.
Lionel Messi helped Barcelona shake off the hangover from their midweek defeat by AC Milan as the leaders rallied to a 2-1 win at home to fellow King's Cup semi-finalists Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday.
Champions Barcelona came through a gruelling La Liga test at a rainswept San Mames on Sunday, beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's first-half header.
The Argentine joined Barca on a free transfer during the close season, but made only five appearances in all competitions due to a calf injury and his cardiac issues, scoring once in a 2-1 home defeat by Real Madrid.
Barca are now second on 66 points, two behind Real who have a game in hand as they chase a first title triumph since 2012.
