Both sides have claimed wins in the first legs of their Copa del Rey last-16 ties and passage to the last eight would make it six meetings so far with a possible two more to come

We meet again | Cristiano and Leo are set to square up a few more times this term





REAL MADRID VS BARCELONA

THE STORY SO FAR IN 2011-12







Competition Date

Venue

Result

Supercopa

August 14

Bernabeu 2-2 draw

Supercopa August 17

Camp Nou

3-2 to Barca

Liga December 10 Bernabeu 3-1 to Barca

Liga

April 28

Camp Nou

to be played



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By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football EditorNo wonder the Clasicos have been getting out of hand recently. Tensions flared as Real Madrid and Barcelona met four times in 18 days last April and early May, six times in all last season and on seven occasions in the calendar year of 2011.But if you thought that was crazy, the two eternal enemies are now on course to meet an unprecedented eight times in 2011-12!Madrid, in the words of Jose Mourinho, may have been 'rubbish' in the first half against Malaga on Tuesday night in the Copa del Rey, but the capital club's comeback to win their first leg match 3-2 means they will be fancied to beat the Andalusians on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals of the cup tournament, a competition they won last season by beating Barca in the final. But should they progress this time, they will meet the Catalans a lot sooner. Later this month, in fact, as Pep Guardiola's men have more than a foot in the next round after thrashing Osasuna 4-0 in their own last-16 first-leg match at Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.Such a pairing would make it six Clasico clashes for the season, with three already played, one more to come in La Liga, plus the two-legged cup tie. And then, of course, there is the possibilty of another Madrid-Barca match-up in the Champions League which, if they are paired together before the final, would mean two further fixtures.With Barca having won La Liga and Madrid claiming the Copa del Rey last term, the two teams met first this season over two legs in the Spanish Supercopa, with the Catalans coming out on top by the odd goal in five following a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.A bad-tempered finale marred the second match as Mourinho poked Barca's assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye. But the sides' subsequent league fixture was a far friendlier affair, albeit with an all-too-familiar outcome for Madrid as Guardiola's men came from behind to seal a 3-1 success and remain very much in the title race ahead of the winter break.Now, two more meetings could very well follow this month, with the first fixture to take place on January 18 and the second to follow a week later. So less than four weeks after the last Clasico, two more already loom large.With Barca in total control of their tie against Osasuna, it only needs Madrid to keep their side of the bargain by avoiding elimination to Malaga. And they will be expected to do so.A Champions League match-up is less of a certainty, but both sides have received negotiable draws in the last 16; Madrid meet CSKA Moscow while Barca face Bayer Leverkusen. Both will be huge favourites to advance and as the two Spanish sides are considered the strongest teams left in the competition, their paths are likely to cross at some stage, as occurred last season, when Guardiola's outfit edged out Mourinho's men in the semi-finals.Should such a draw in the last eight or the semi-finals be produced this time around, that could take the tally up to eight Clasico clashes in a single season, while a meeting in the final would ensure seven games between the two giants, providing they go on to face off in the Copa.A veritable feast of football, then. Because even though they may be fed up with playing against each other, the watching world certainly isn't fed up with watching the two finest football sides there are battle out their extraordinary rivalry. Over and over again: The eight-track Clasico.