Again, there will be something at stake in the Real Madrid vs Barcelona live streams at the Bernabeu when Spanish football’s two giants lock horns again in the El Clasico. The honour of being crowned the best team in the land this year would be what they are playing for. This season, the title can only be won by two teams and again, they hail from the major Spanish capitals of Madrid and Barcelona. Together with Valencia, Sevilla FC and Villarreal, there was greater competition in recent seasons as the clubs had opportunities to win the title of the top football club in Spain. This season, a more familiar two horse race has returned. It has brought back memories of the past when the two cities’ main clubs were often the ones with the most powerful backing financially. The intense rivalry between the two is also seated deep within the Spanish politics during historic wars.

Real Madrid will recall the humiliation they suffered in the exact fixture last season. In fact, some parallels could be drawn with the situation leading up to this season’s match. The Los Blancos were in great form. There was no stopping Real Madrid as they continued to win one match after another under then manager Juande Ramos. They were also beating teams by large margins that were more like rugby scorelines. This year could easily be mistaken for last season. The Madristas are top of the pile and have swept aside all competition. They happen to be right above Barcelona on goal difference. The club splashed the cash in buying up some of the best players on the planet in order to snatch the title back from Barcelona in the form of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso. Even the manager has been changed to Manuel Pellegrini after the Argentine was lured from Villarreal to lead the club to glory on every count.

The current champions of Spain are Barcelona. The team led by Pep Guardiola reached the pinnacle of success over the past year as they swept to every imaginable trophy in the world. Domestic, regional and international titles were collected in six major tournaments and it was no surprise they were referred to as the best team in the world. The squad has hardly changed since the last year with the only major adition in the form of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It has not brought equivalent success this time round as Guardiola predicted. Barca are left with just two titles to play for in the La Liga and Champions League. But they are also considered the ones that every team would dearly do anything to get their hands on. There is a great desire within the club to be regarded as the best in the land and Barca would need to win the La Liga title again. What better way to do so than to beat Real Madrid in the El Clasico and in their own stadium?