Barcelona and Real Madrid will face off in a pre-season friendly in Las Vegas on Saturday, which could give a glimpse into the future of the fierce rivalry between the two giants next season.

The name of Las Vegas is more often associated with the most famous heavyweight fights in boxing than with the opposition of the elite European football clubs.

But for at least one evening and a stone’s throw from the twinkling lights of the Vegas Strip, the game will have a massive showdown as Barcelona and Real Madrid face off at the 65,000-seat Alegian Stadium. spectators, which is the private stadium of the Las Vegas Raiders American football.

This match will give an idea of ​​what the new chapter of the competition between the two poles of Spanish football will be like.

With the departures of Argentine stars Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo from Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, a large number of new players will be in the spotlight when the two teams enter the field.

Confrontation between two scorers

This friendly match could be the first Clasico clash between Real Madrid veteran French star Karim Benzema and new Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, recently signed from Bayern Munich. Benzema joined Real Madrid training in Los Angeles this week after the club granted him an extended sabbatical.

Although previous reports indicated that Benzema would play no role in Saturday’s Clasico, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti selected him as a key front-line player in a practice match on the UC campus on Thursday, along with Uruguayan Federico Valverde and the Brazilian Star. Vinicius. Ancelotti is also likely to give German defender Antonio Rüdiger, who joined from Chelsea, and former Monaco midfielder Aurelian Chuamini a chance.

While the preparatory matches are generally calm and do not attach much importance to their outcome, Ancelotti emphasizes that the mutual dislike between Real Madrid and Barcelona guarantees that the confrontation between them will be exciting, and said on this occasion: “It will be very competitive match. It will never be an exhibition match against Barcelona. It will be an amazing match.”

On the other hand, it will be an opportunity for the Barcelona manager and his former legend Xavi Hernandez to get to know his new signings, led by Lewandowski, as well as Brazilian striker Rafinha from Leeds. Coastal midfielder Frank Kessy of AC Milan and defender Dane Andreas Christensen of Chelsea.