Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to face up in a few weeks in what will be one of the most hotly anticipated games of the 2014-15 season. Both sides seem to be finding their identity and nowhere is this more important than on defense. Which side possesses the better defense?

Barcelona
Here is a simply number that says it all: zero. That is the number of goals that Barcelona has conceded in the Spanish League this season. The team did lose against Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last week (and conceded three goals in the process) in UEFA Champions League, but the fact that Luis Enrique's side remains perfect domestically deserves tremendous accolades.

There seems to be a lot of tinkering however with who forms that line. Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu seem to be the preferred duo in the middle this season, but this past weekend the Frenchman was placed on the left fullback position while Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra (the backup centerbacks this season) got the start. Dani Alves seems to be the mainstay on the right side of the defense, though there are questions about his ability to track back and cover.

In all likelihood, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alves and Jordi Alba will be the ones to start in the game against Los Blancos and nothing indicates that they are a weak unit. Of course Mascherano is not a natural centerback while Alba and Alves tend to get caught up the pitch quite a bit. They can deliver offensively but if they have to be marking Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez on those flanks, they will either have sit back more often and thus diminish their offensive contributions or risk getting caught up the pitch on a Madrid counter.

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Real Madrid
Los Blancos have struggled with obtaining clean sheets thus far this season and only have three in seven Spanish League tilts. The back four usually consists of Dani Carvajal on the right, Sergio Ramos and Pepe in the middle and Marcelo on the left.

This is a risky proposition in many ways. Ramos is steady but has struggled to retain his consistency in recent games. He has been prone to silly mistakes that have cost his team on a number of occasions. He was given a soft yellow card in the team's recent win over Athletic Bilbao and over-committed on numerous occasions in the team's 2-1 win over Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad.

Pepe might not even be the best option as the other central defender with Raphael Varane playing the way he has been in recent weeks. He is undisputedly Madrid's top central defender at the moment and should get the start in a few week's time. However, he and Ramos have struggled to defend aerial threats and have looked weak on corners. Fortunately for Madrid, Barcelona is also weak in the air and should not pose much of a threat.

Marcelo however is the biggest gamble of all. On a good day, Fabio Coentrao is the man who should be on the left. He does not provide as much offensively as Marcelo does but he is more adept defensively. Marcelo however has gotten more playing time of late due to Coentrao's injury woes and has been mixed at best. He was sublime against Bilbao but has not looked great in other instances.

Dani Carvajal may have the greatest difficulty of all on the right as he tries to contain the dynamic Neymar. He, like Alba, adds a lot offensively but can get caught up the pitch on counters. However, he has grown defensively and could be a major factor in this one.

Verdict: Barcelona should get the slight nod, but as PSG showed, they are easy to dismantle on the counter. PSG is the first solid side to take on the Catalan club and Madrid will undoubtedly provide similar problems for the defense (if not more given Cristiano Ronaldo's blazing form). Despite the goals allowed difference, these defenses are both teams' weak points. They are even.

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