Alex Kirkland May 8, 2026, 06:00 AM ET

A bad season for Real Madrid might be about to get much, much worse. A calamitous 2025-26 has already seen Madrid lose a coach in Xabi Alonso, crash out of the Copa del Rey , exit the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals and suffer a string of LaLiga losses that have left them trailing leaders Barcelona , and facing a trophyless season for the second year in a row.

In just the last week, Madrid have been hit by a series of behind-the-scenes scandals: An injured Kylian Mbappé took an ill-advised midseason holiday, details emerged of a dressing room bust-up between Antonio Rüdiger and Álvaro Carreras , and vice-captain Federico Valverde was taken to hospital with a concussion after a confrontation with Aurélien Tchouaméni .

Now, Barcelona have the chance to twist the knife in Sunday's Clásico ( LIVE at 3 p.m. ET across ESPN networks in the U.S. ). They go into the game at Camp Nou 11 points clear of Madrid, with four games of the season left.…