Barcelona, led by German coach Hansi Flick, has two finals ahead of them in the Champions League in their quest to sneak into the top eight clubs to avoid the playoffs.
On the other hand, Real Madrid, who are in seventh place in the overall standings, are in control of their own destiny to avoid a possible playoff.
Both Spanish clubs come into this seventh game of the Champions League league phase with two different perspectives, one team fighting for all possible titles and the other having lost a final and been eliminated from another.
Real Madrid arrive after losing the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona, which caused the departure of the now former Real Madrid coach and Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso. In Arbeloa’s first official match with the club, the team lost in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey against second division side Albacete.
Already in his second game in charge of the club, Alvaro Arbeloa achieved a 2-0 league victory over Levante, putting him just one point behind leaders Barcelona. Now Real Madrid are focused on their favourite competition, the Champions League, where they will host Ligue 1 side Monaco on Tuesday, January 20.
Real Madrid has 12 points, placing them in seventh position in the overall standings, level on points with Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, who are below them only on goal difference.
Barcelona will face SK Slavia Prague in their penultimate Champions League group stage match. The Blaugrana club is in 15th place, with 10 points, tied with Newcastle, Chelsea and Sporting CP, with the same number of points, but Barcelona is last due to goal difference.
If the Cule club wants to position itself among the best eight in this phase, it will have to win these last two games and wait for a series of combinations to be able to enter the next phase without having to play the playoffs.
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