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Reigning champions Barcelona imposed their dominance in El Clásico against their arch-rivals, leaders Real Madrid, last season, winning all four matches. This season, however, the capital club, led by their brilliant French striker Kylian Mbappé, hopes to please their fans and end their winless streak when they host the Catalan giants on Sunday, in the tenth round of the Spanish La Liga.
Hansi Flick's men beat Real Madrid twice in La Liga and once each in the Copa del Rey and Super Cup en route to a domestic treble, accelerating the end of Carlo Ancelotti's reign in Madrid.
Young coach Xabi Alonso, who is playing his first El Clásico as a coach after replacing Ancelotti, who left to coach the Brazilian national team, had a good start, leading the team to a 24-point lead over defending champions Barcelona ahead of the anticipated clash at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Doubts remain about Los Blancos' performance in key matches, having lost 4-0 to European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals this summer and suffering a 5-2 defeat to city rivals Atlético Madrid in the Madrid derby in September.
A victory over Barcelona will open the door for Real Madrid to move five points clear of their rivals and alleviate these doubts, while coach Flick is still looking to reach the same level his team reached last season.
Mbappé represents a significant difference compared to Real Madrid's performance last year. The 26-year-old striker has reached new heights this season after a strong finish last season.
The Les Bleus striker has scored in his last 11 matches for both club and country, before facing Juventus, where England's Jude Bellingham scored Real's only goal in the third round of the Champions League.
Mbappé has scored 10 of his 20 league goals this season, leading the scoring charts. His overall tally in all competitions has reached 15 goals, accounting for 54 percent of his team's goals.
Mbappé put behind him his difficult beginnings with Real Madrid and his struggle to regain his form in his early days in Madrid, as his first El Clásico was a huge disappointment.
Specifically, a year before this weekend's El Clásico, Barcelona visited the Santiago Bernabéu and returned with a resounding 4-0 victory. The French star struggled to overcome the Catalan team's high defense in his first match against their stubborn rivals.
Mbappé saw his goal disallowed for offside and was caught offside eight times in the match. After Mbappé's disappointing performance, Spanish newspaper AS wrote that the striker was "shrunken and devoid of energy."
Despite the frustration felt by Real Madrid fans, Mbappé maintained his confidence and pledged a few weeks later, as Real Madrid's decline continued, "It's time to change my situation and show who I am as a player."
Mbappé matched that with action when he faced Barcelona in the Super Cup final in January. Despite losing 5-2, he scored both of his team's goals, just as he did in the 3-2 defeat to the Catalan club in the Copa del Rey final.
In May, during Mbappé's prime, he scored a hat-trick against Barcelona but failed to prevent Real Madrid from losing 4-3 at the Olympic Stadium, with the winners poised to clinch the league title.
This season, Turkish playmaker Arda Güler has stepped into the fray, forming a strong partnership with the French striker, thanks to his ability to track Mbappé's explosive runs.
"Arda moves between the lines, and that's where he finds Mbappé brilliantly," Alonso said.
With Barcelona's defensive struggles since the start of the season, having conceded 10 goals in nine matches, Real Madrid appear confident that Mbappé can have a devastating impact in Sunday's El Clásico.
Real Madrid has the numbers in their favor this season, with 10 consecutive home wins in all competitions, their longest streak in a decade.
The two teams have met in 261 El Clásicos in all competitions, with Real winning 105, Barcelona 104, and 52 matches ending in draws.
Barcelona is seeking to continue its recovery from its 4-1 defeat to Sevilla in the eighth round and achieve its third consecutive victory in all competitions. They also defeated Girona 2-1 in La Liga and crushed Olympiacos 6-1, with Fermin Lopez scoring a hat-trick and Marcus Rashford scoring twice in the third round of the continental competition.
Flick, who will watch the match from the stands after being sent off in the previous match, hopes to have Brazilian Rafinha back, while Gavi, Dani Olmo, goalkeeper Juan Garcia, and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski remain sidelined due to injury.
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