When La Liga resumes after the international break, Barcelona and Real Madrid will face each other not once but twice — and neither match will be a league game.
Their Champions League quarter-final first leg is on April 8 at the Spotify Camp Nou. The second leg is on April 14 at the Bernabéu. Between and around those fixtures, both clubs are locked in a title race that enters the break separated by just four points.
Barcelona sit top on 73 points after Araújo's header secured a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, Joan García's saves keeping the clean sheet intact. Real Madrid are on 69 after surviving a chaotic derby — Vinicius twice, Valverde red-carded, Lunin brilliant for 14 minutes at ten men.
Nine La Liga matchdays remain. Real face Mallorca on April 4, then two UCL legs against Bayern Munich on April 7 and 14. Barcelona face Atlético Madrid in the UCL quarter-finals on the same dates.
On the other side of the draw: PSG vs Liverpool, and Arsenal vs Sporting CP. The four quarter-final winners meet in the semi-finals. A Clásico European final in Budapest on May 30 is mathematically possible.
Both managers know the stakes. Flick's Barcelona have the lead and the momentum. Arbeloa's Real Madrid have Vinicius in the form of his life and the belief that comes from eliminating Manchester City and then beating Atlético in the space of four days.
The international break is an unwelcome pause. But when football returns, it will be extraordinary.
