There is always pressure attached to El Clasico, but this weekend’s meeting between Barcelona and Real Madrid feels bigger than most.

For Barcelona, it is an opportunity to secure the La Liga title. For arch-rivals Madrid, it arrives at the end of a turbulent week that has only intensified scrutiny around the club.

Madrid travel to Catalonia surrounded by uncertainty.

Reports of fighting within the squad have dominated headlines, while speculation over the future of the managerial position continues to grow ahead of the summer. Jose Mourinho is 1/3 favourite to become Madrid manager ahead of their first game of next season, and with the reports around poor discipline and friction within the squad, his return for a second spell in the job makes more sense by the day.

The atmosphere around the club is unstable heading into the biggest fixture of the domestic season, while Barcelona appear calm, settled and confident. They are considered virtual certainties to win La Liga, with second-placed Madrid now 500/1 to overhaul them.

Madrid should have mounted a better challenge to win the title this season, but sit 11 points behind Barca with four games each left.

They need to win here, but the difference in mood could prove decisive. So could the home side’s recent form, with five successive wins. Barcelona are priced at 8/13 with Betfair to win this one, while Madrid are 11/4 to take three points that stop their rivals from claiming the title in front of them.

The hosts have looked the sharper and more balanced of the two teams throughout the second half of the campaign. Against a Madrid side who seem to be struggling physically and emotionally, Barcelona should see this as the ideal opportunity to impose themselves early.

Barca are 8/15 to score the night’s first goal, but writing Madrid off entirely in any Clasico is rarely advisable. They won this fixture 2-1 at the Bernabeu in October, and have game-changers capable of producing moments out of nowhere.

Both teams to score is priced at 2/7. And the likelihood of more than 3.5 goals in the match is 13/20, suggesting we could be in for a thriller.

The psychological element has to be considered in this match-up. Madrid arrive looking vulnerable at precisely the moment Barca have the chance to make a statement. Winning the title race is one thing, but doing so by beating your fiercest rivals while they are in visible disarray would send a powerful message about where both clubs currently stand.

If Barcelona avoid defeat tomorrow, they mathematically clinch the title in a match against Madrid for the first time ever.

They look the more cohesive, confident and complete side — and this could be the moment when they cement their superiority over their great rivals… before Mourinho potentially re-enters the picture for next season.