When do Real Madrid and Barcelona play next after the international break? What are their remaining LaLiga fixtures?

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are eight points clear of Barça with nine games to play, one of which is El Clásico on 21 April.

Real Madrid and Barcelona both signed off with LaLiga victories before the international break, with Los Blancos downing Osasuna 4-2 in Pamplona on Saturday and Barça impressing in a 3-0 win over Atlético Madrid 24 hours later. The weekend results leave Carlo Ancelotti’s side eight points clear at the top of the standings, although Xavi Hernandez’s men haven’t given up all hope of defending their title.

The Catalans look to have come back into form in time for the business end of the season, which will resume with a home game against Las Palmas on Saturday 30 March. Barcelona have picked up 20 points from the last 24 available in the league and will hope continuing their recent improvement after the break will enable them to close the gap to Madrid at the top.

Of Barça’s nine remaining matches, four are at home and five away, with El Clásico, which will be played at Estadio Bernabéu on Sunday 21 April, surely crucial if they are to have any chance of catching their bitter rivals.

La Blaugrana will, of course, also feature in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain over two legs (Wednesday 10 April and Tuesday 16 April). The winner will play either Atlético Madrid or Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.

The big issue for Barça, other than the eight-point gap, is that Real Madrid have shown few signs of slipping up. Over the same eight-game period, Los Merengues have taken 18 points from 24, two less than their chasers, but they are unbeaten in 23 league matches and have have lost only two games in all competitions all season, both away to Atlético Madrid.

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