Zinedine Zidane's side host Barcelona at the Bernabeu on Sunday in a clash which could go a long way to determining the outcome of the title race.

Real Madrid has won six of its last seven league games, with the only setback a 1-1 home draw against city rival Atletico Madrid two rounds ago.

He has been rested eight times this season - that's eight times more than under most previous managers during a season.

In the good old days, Barcelona defended as a unit high up the pitch, requiring every player to stay tight to each other in order to suffocate teams with a high press.

The Wales worldwide suffered a calf injury in the 2-1 UEFA Champions League quarter-final, first-leg win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on April 12. Two of those goals should have been ruled out for offside, but he was in (almost) the right place at the right time and although his physical contribution is not what it was, he is still key to his side.

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While, Barca boss Luis Enrique has paid for rotating in shock defeats to Alaves, Celta Vigo, Deportivo la Coruna and Malaga, Real's reserves have at times delivered even better results than Zidane's first-choice XI. For once it was not to be, but Messi being Messi, if one day he doesn't succeed, the next day he probably will.

"Of course the season could have been better". As for Andre Gomes, the man signed to fill the gaps.

Zinedine Zidane's side have been frequently criticised in the Spanish press for their unconvincing displays this term, but the overriding quality of their squad has helped them deliver maximum points in hard games at the likes of Sporting, Leganes and Eibar.

And if Barca lose out on the title to Real Madrid, serious questions will be raised about how they failed to strengthen their thin squad despite spending so much money trying to fix it. Add to that two full backs to push forward effectively and Madrid may just think that for once they actually have the strongest midfield.

"It's hard because there are so many during a game, they happen quickly and they're hard to judge, but we do our best, particularly to try and get the important decisions spot on so that the outcome of the game isn't affected". "Understanding what that value is and importantly which media channels it comes from is also vital and becoming more and more important for us as our global reach continues to grow".