Real Madrid’s laboured start to the season leaves them with an uphill struggle in the title race. They currently trail leaders Barcelona by 8 points in La Liga, meaning that a shot at glory is effectively out of their hands. Barcelona must slip up considerably between now and the end of the season, if Real Madrid are to lift the trophy.
There is a lot of football still to be played, after all we are not yet at the winter break. However, it’s fair to say that Los Blancos have not played at anywhere near their best. This could be seen as a blessing in disguise, as it’s better to peak during the run in at the back end of the season.
While it’s mathematically possible to win the league, Real Madrid will fight on. But Real Madrid will make history if they pull it off. They have never clawed their way back from an 8 point deficit but records are made to be broken and Zinedine Zidane will be hoping to do just that.
El Clasico Matches Will Settle Title Race
Andy Bell from freebets.org says that the two El Clasico matches against Barcelona will be pivotal in the La Liga title race. The arch-rivals first meet at the Bernabeu on December 23rd, before locking horns again at Camp Nou on May 6th 2018, with only two further games remaining.
If Real can defeat Barcelona in Madrid, then it will set up a thrilling second half of the season. A draw or loss for Los Blancos would probably make it too hard for them to catch Barca. With the expectation that the sides will more or less match each other across the remaining games of the season, it could all boil down to the match in Catalonia.
As things stand, Real Madrid will probably need to win both El Clasico encounters to pip Barcelona to the title. At the time of writing, they can be backed at odds of 4/1 with most bookmakers to lift their 34th La Liga trophy.
