Franco endorsed Real Madrid — the Real, or "royal" in their name comes from that — while Catalonia was oppressed by the dictator. Barcelona became the most public symbol of Catalonia, and calls for Catalan independence
Coming into El Clásico, Real Madrid were being heralded as the best team in the world. They might still be that, but they appeared to believe their own hype against Barcelona.
Lionel Messi's hat trick helped Barca earn a massive victory over Real Madrid in the latest edition of El Clásico.
Real Madrid lost their second straight league match, falling to third place behind Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, who both won on Wednesday.
After a rocky start, Unai Emery has turned their season around and a win over Real Madrid would be a huge notch on the belt, so to speak. Carlo Ancelotti will be without two starters thanks to card suspensions, making his team's task that much more
Watch Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale fall out over free kick taking
