Real Madrid's Blueprint to Deny Barcelona a Triumphant Guard of Honor at the Next Clasico

With only six matches remaining this season, Real Madrid's hopes of claiming the La Liga title are looking increasingly slim.

Barcelona sit nine points clear at the summit, with Álvaro Arbeloa's side now appearing destined to endure a second straight season without silverware. Opta's supercomputer puts Hansi Flick's side at a 97.83% probability of holding onto their domestic crown.

Madrid travel to Real Betis on Friday evening aiming to keep their slim title hopes alive, while at the very minimum they must force Barça to earn their championship.

Another compelling reason to secure victory at La Cartuja is to avoid the uncomfortable prospect of having to form a guard of honor when the two sides clash at Camp Nou in the final Clásico of the campaign on May 10.

Avoiding the Need for a 'Pasillo'

In Spain, as in numerous other countries, when a team has officially been confirmed as La Liga champions during the season, they are traditionally given a pasillo (guard of honor) by their opponents ahead of kick-off in their remaining matches.

Madrid have occasionally bypassed the tradition, most notably refusing to honor Barcelona following this season's Supercopa final in Jeddah and during a contentious league encounter at Camp Nou near the close of the 2017–18 season.

However, to prevent the pasillo from becoming a major talking point, Madrid must avoid dropping points in their next two fixtures against Betis and Espanyol. Failing to do so would allow Barça the opportunity to extend their points advantage beyond 12 with four games remaining when the sides meet.

Barcelona and Real Madrid's Remaining La Liga Fixtures

Complicating matters further, should the points gap remain unchanged heading into gameweek 35, Barcelona could clinch the title with a win over Madrid, stretching their lead to an insurmountable 12 points with three games still to go.

The best-case scenario for Madrid would be Barça dropping points in their next two away fixtures against Getafe and Osasuna, eliminating that possibility and reigniting a genuine title contest.

Real Madrid and Barcelona's remaining fixtures

Arbeloa, for his part, has vowed to continue battling for the title until it is mathematically out of reach.

Speaking to the press after Tuesday's victory over Alavés, he said: "As long as there are mathematically still opportunities, there is a league to fight for. We will keep going until that is no longer the case.

"We have three consecutive away matches, all of them tough, as away games always are, but these three will be even more demanding. We need to put in a massive effort if we want to achieve anything in Seville.

"Right now our focus is on the game in Seville against a strong opponent in a fantastic stadium."