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A five point difference

That is the amount that separates leaders Real Madrid from Barcelona. That may not seem like a large amount but in the crazy league that is La Liga, that's a huge quarry between the two teams.

Madrid have looked in excellent form this season only dropping points on three occasions compared to Barça's six. One of those being the defeat by the hands of Barcelona at the Bernabau. This gives them a 5 point lead at this stage in the league but importantly for Mourinho it means if Madrid were to lose the Clásico they would still be 2 points ahead of their Spanish rivals.

With such strength in depth in the Real squad, a slip up would seem highly unlikely. This is causing some concern in the Catalan camp. Especially as there is no guarantee Barcelona won't drop points again this season.

But if Madrid were to pull off an unbelievable performance and win the Clásico against all odds then Guardiola will be very worried for his side's title hopes.

Barça's captain Carles Puyol does remain optimistic though. "Five points is a significant distance, but it can be retrieved," Puyol told the official Barcelona website. "We will not concede the league and we will fight to the end. We still aim to be champions."

This is a feeling all the players share as they all still believe they are capable of catching Los Blancos. It is also shared by the manager Pep Guardiola who refused to concede defeat in the La Liga title race after the recent 1-1 draw with Espanyol. Commenting that "The championship is very long and there are still plenty of points up for grabs which can be won and lost," Whilst also refusing to criticise the referee after he denied Barcelona a penalty in the dying moments of the game. "In football, you have to overcome things like this. You can only change what is in your power," he said.

The goal-scorer Cesc Fàbregas took to his twitter account to calm fans' fears, "Difficult game tonight, we left two points but we have to keep going till the end. Now time to rest."

But there are worrying signs for the Cules as the last time Madrid won the title, in the season of 2007-08, Madrid had an astonishing 18 point advantage over Barcelona. Proving that Madrid don't crack under the pressure of maintaining a high point advantage.

But that was a different Barcelona, before they became known as one of the best sides ever to play the game. The team has developed class to their side including third time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, third placed Xavi and other world class players such as Iniesta, Piqué and the returning Cesc Fàbregas, all who now have the experience of winning titles. Which can't be said about all of Madrid's squad.

The question is will some of the younger, less experienced players in the Los Blancos squad be able to cope with the pressure of staying on top or will they crumble and allow the Catalans to remain champions.

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