Arguably the most anticipated fixture in the footballing calendar, the first El Clásico of the season is upon us as Barcelona prepare to host bitter rivals Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Saturday. Barca are currently sitting 6 points behind Madrid after last weekend’s draw at Real Sociedad and they will be looking to minimise the gap this weekend. The two teams are in very different situations at the moment with some of the Barca players even stating that they are lacking attitude while Madrid seem entirely confident.
Barcelona’s last 5 in all competitions is not looking very attractive for a team who are meant to be at the head of world football. They have won just twice in their past 5 and are coming off a string of 2 straight La Liga draws. Their season got off to a convincing start but after winning 4 straight games in the second half of October, including a 4-0 thumping of Man City, they have slumped in form and seem to have lost the spark we are so used to seeing. They have been weak in the midfield and have battled to create chances for their extremely strong frontline. Luis Enrique’s men cannot, however, be written off. Messi, Neymar and Suarez will all start and with the expected return of Iniesta, their creativity and “Barca style” should return to their game. Neymar has no goal in seven now and Suarez has just one in five, they will both be looking to end their run of poor form. Barcelona will also most likely have to do without Jeremy Mathieu, Samuel Umtiti, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.
Madrid, on the other hand, have turned things around in a more positive manner. After having to settle for 4 straight draws near the end of September they managed to bounce back and have gone on a 10 game run made up of 9 wins and 1 draw which came in the Champions League. They have still not lost this season and Zidane is expected to get his tactics spot on against the Catalans in order to keep their unbeaten run alive. With the absence of Gareth Bale, we will be expecting the Frenchman to employ a somewhat conservative approach which should Frustrate Barca as they battle to power through the Barcelona stronghold. Madrid’s frontline is still excessively strong without Bale and we have no doubt they will make the most of any mishaps or gaps within the Barcelona setup. Ronaldo has now scored 10 league goals in 10 appearances and will be dangerously looking to add to his tally. There are some questions around the Madrid midfield and whether Kovacic will keep his spot alongside Modric as Casemiro returns from a spell on the sidelines. Toni Kroos and Alvaro Morata are expected to remain on the sidelines.
One thing is for sure… form goes out the window in big games. There is a lot at stake in this game and both teams are going to battle hard to take the win. We’re certainly going to be glued to our screens every second of the game.
El Clásico stats
- The Teams have met 231 times in all competitions - Barcelona wins – 90 - Real Madrid Wins – 93 - Draws – 48
- Lionel Messi is the all-time top scorer in El Clásico with 21 total goals
- Real Madrid have lost none of their last 15 away matches
- Barcelona haven't lost in their last 4 games.
- Barcelona have scored in 12 of their last 13 games
- Real Madrid have scored in all of their last 13 games
- Each team has won 3 times in their last 6 meetings
El Clásico Odds (At the time of writing)
Barcelona: 1.82 Draw: 4.05 Real Madrid: 3.92