La Liga Title Race: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Head-to-Head Analysis

It was a perfect time to take a break.

With nine match days remaining in the Spanish First Division schedule, all teams have a free weekend due to the FIFA date.

Almost all squads still have something to fight for (a spot in the Champions or Europa League, avoiding relegation), but of course, everybody is looking to the fight at the top.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Who will be the next La Liga champion?

Let’s make use of this break to analyze them.

Cristiano Ronaldo is having a terrific season, with 27 goals in 27 league matches.

The Portuguese star has carried Los Merengues in many games, helping them break their Champions League curse and reaching their first Copa del Rey final in seven years.

But even CR7’s fantastic season gets overshadowed by Lionel Messi.

La Pulga has spent the last six months erasing any doubt about who is the best player in the world.

Advantage: Barcelona

In less than three years as First Division manager, Pep Guardiola already has accomplished more than almost any other coach: Two leagues, one Copa del Rey, two Spanish Supercups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Supercup and one FIFA World Club Cup.

But on the other bench sits the man who found the way to stop his team last year. The Special One.

Jose Mourinho is probably the best manager of the current era. Since 2002, he has won at least one trophy every year, including two editions of the UEFA Champions League with Porto and Inter, only the third manager to win the European top competition with two different teams.

Advantage: Real Madrid

Iker Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world. Period.

Víctor Valdés is on route to win his third Zamora trophy in a row, but that has a lot to do with the opposing teams being unable to reach Barcelona’s goal.

Casillas has proven his value time after time with Real Madrid and the Spanish National Team. He was the hero in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final against Netherlands, and he saved Los Merengues many times when their defense was atrocious.

Valdés is also a very good keeper, and is Casillas’ deputy with Spain, but he is not in the same league.

Advantage: Real Madrid

At first sight, Los Culés have a clear edge in this line.

Dani Alves is the best right back in the world, one step ahead of Sergio Ramos.

Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol are a stronger duo than Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho.

Eric Abidal is a more complete left back than Marcelo.

The problem is, Abidal will miss the rest of the season due to a liver tumor, while Puyol has struggled with injuries for a while.

Real Madrid’s defense is fully healthy.

Advantage: Real Madrid

After years and years of wasting money in attacking players while forgetting about balance, Real Madrid has finally amended the course and now has one of the top midfields in the world.

Xabi Alonso is a world class player. Some fans already compare Mezut Özil with Zinedine Zidane, and Ángel Di María has been a revelation since his arrival from Benfica. Sami Khedira has also had a solid season.

But, oh right, the Blaugrana side has three World Champions, including two of the three finalists in the FIFA Golden Ball vote of last year.

Advantage: Barcelona

We already established that Lionel Messi is superior to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi’s supporting cast is also stronger.

David Villa is a world-class striker who easily adapted to play from the left side, making everybody forget about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Pedro Rodríguez is a star on the rise.

Karim Benzema has been questioned since his arrival to Madrid, while Emmanuel Adebayor became expendable in Manchester City and has scored only three goals since joining Los Merengues.

It’s not even close.

Advantage: Barcelona

The Madrid side seems to have more depth than their rivals in almost every line.

Defenders Álvaro Arbeloa and Raúl Albiol were part of the Spanish National Team in the 2010 World Cup.

Midfielders Lass Diarra, Pedro León, Sergio Canales and Esteban Granero are solid deputies.

I would pick Adebayor over Bojan nine out of 10 times.

Meanwhile, other than Mascherano and Seydou Keita in the midfield, Barça doesn’t seem to have replacements at a similar level to the starters.

Advantage: Real Madrid

I omitted one player in the previous slide. His name is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite.

You probably know him as Kaká.

The Brazilian player has only eight appearances and 356 minutes played in the league due to injuries. It has been rumored in the Spanish press that his relationship with Mourinho is broken.

But he is still a former FIFA Player of the Year and is only 28 years old.

Kaká could be the player who changes the course of one game. We all know his magic, he just needs a few minutes to use it.

Pep Guardiola would have to trust one of the kids from Barça B.

Advantage: Real Madrid

Both teams will face beatable opponents in the UEFA Champions League, and then they would meet each other. It's the same case in the Copa del Rey, so these tournaments won’t affect the definition of La Liga.

In their final nine games, Barcelona will visit Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Levante and Malaga. They will host Almería, Osasuna, Espanyol and Deportivo.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will host Sporting, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Getafe and Almeria. They will visit Athletic, Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal.

Apart from the Clásico at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Los Culés only have a hard match, the visit to Villarreal.

Barcelona should win the other seven games, which would force Real Madrid to sweep the opposition in their remaining schedule.

In their turn, Los Merengues have four very difficult away matches, plus the Clásico itself at home. It seems very likely that they will lose some points.

Advantage: Barcelona

Barcelona is widely considered the best team of the world, so many expect them to win another Treble.

On the other side, after ending the last two seasons with empty hands, Real Madrid just want to win whatever they can.

You would think the pressure is over the Blaugrana side, but they spent the last three years thriving under pressure.

Los Merengues just managed to end a streak of six years losing in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

Advantage: Barcelona

Los Blaugrana have a good edge in the standings (five points plus the tiebreaker due to the 5-0 victory in the Clásico in the first half of the season) and an easier schedule, so they shouldn’t struggle to get their third Spanish championship in a row.

Real Madrid has closed the gap, but they are still one or two steps behind their rivals.

Follow me on Twitter: @luisrha

Also read:

* La Liga: Ranking the Top 25 Players in the Spanish First Division