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Barcelona and Real Madrid's latest showdown is set to be historic for Spanish football.
Sunday's Clasico at the Camp Nou could see Hansi Flick's side clinch their 29th La Liga by avoiding defeat to their arch-rivals, who are firmly in the grip of a full-blown crisis.
Real Madrid in freefall ahead of Barcelona clash
Real Madrid arrested a run of four successive Clasico defeats when they edged out Barca in October's meeting at the Bernabeu which opened up a five-point cushion.
But behind the scenes, a storm was brewing. Vinicius Junior's outburst after he was substituted in the 73rd minute by Xabi Alonso exposed the fragility of Los Blancos.
The Brazil international reportedly shouted, “Always me... I'm leaving!” at Alonso, whose authority began to wear thin before he was sacked following January's Super Cup final.
Madrid's problems only worsened when the former midfielder was replaced by his ex-teammate Alvaro Arbeloa, promoted from the B team until the end of the season.
The World Cup winner fared even worse with dressing room discourse which blew up further by Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde ruling themselves out of the clash.
Both players will miss the trip to Catalonia following a training ground bust-up while Arbeloa has reportedly faced conflict with other senior players including Dani Ceballos.
That dichotomy stands at the heart of a second trophyless campaign which sees them now 11 points adrift of the champions-elect heading into their final four matches.
Barca, meanwhile, have steadily reclaimed their dominance with an unbroken run at the top since the end of November while their post-Clasico form has been imperious.
Since the reversal in the capital, they have lost only two of their next 24 games in La Liga and are on a run of 10 straight victories with the return to Camp Nou proving key.
Their late-September homecoming has seen a return of 17 domestic victories with 52 goals scored and just nine conceded; a feat made more impressive by the absence of key figures across the course of the season including Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
A potential 18th home victory would be defining for their rivalry with Madrid for more reasons than the outcome of the game and the Spanish title's confirmed destination.
One win separates the clubs in Clasico contests with the visitors holding a 106-105 lead while the Blaugrana sit just two trophies away from their haul of the same number.
They could be level-pegged on all fronts if paired together in another Super Cup final, as they have been in the last four editions of the revamped four-team tournament.
Putting one over on their ultimate rival could lead to a defining moment in their shared history. For Madrid, it could not arrive at a worse possible moment than this.
