Preview
This weekend’s La Liga Santander match between Barcelona and Real Madrid offers the opportunity to all but guarantee the first post-Messi league championship on Sunday night.
With a victory at Camp Nou, the Catalans may increase their lead over second-place Madrid to 12 points. Currently, they are nine points clear of Madrid. Due to Barcelona’s early departure from the Europa League.
They have had a full week to prepare for El Clasico, in contrast to the visiting Real, who played Liverpool on Wednesday as part of their Champions League round-of-16 matchup.
The team led by Xavi will undoubtedly have made good use of the extra time as they look for a second victory over their sworn enemies, whom they have already defeated in the first legs of both their Copa del Rey semifinal and Spanish Super Cup final.
Form Guide: Barcelona
This has been an almost flawless La Liga season for table-topping Barcelona, and it appears that the team will win its first league championship since 2018–19. They have a nine-point lead over enduring rival Real Madrid, and a victory would all but guarantee them the title of champions-elect.
The Catalan team dropped the reverse match back in October, but they remain unbeaten at home in the league this year, winning ten of their 12 games and losing two.
Despite being eliminated by Manchester United from European play, Xavi Hernandez’s team is now focused on reclaiming the top spot in Spanish football.
The Catalan giants defeated their Copa del Rey opponents 1-0 in the first leg at the Bernabeu in January and defeated them 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia this month.
Across the season they have averaged an incredible 2.6 points per game and conceded just eight goals in 25 matches. This puts them within reach of the best defensive record in La Liga history.
Form Guide: Real Madrid
While Real Madrid’s season has been the complete reverse of Barça’s, the Catalan club has excelled in La Liga while struggling in Europe. Los Blancos have struggled in the league and are destined to lose their domestic championship to Barcelona.
They have demonstrated that they are still capable of going off against the best teams in Europe. On Wednesday night, they eliminated Liverpool with a 6-2 overall victory and handed Barcelona their first La Liga loss of the year back in October.
Although they may not be at their amazing heights of 2021/21, this Madrid team still has the knowledge and technical prowess necessary to succeed in pivotal matches.
This Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti’s team will visit Camp Nou with the knowledge that a loss will practically hand the league championship to Barça. Except David Alaba, who will continue to miss Sunday’s game due to injury, the Italian coach should have a full roster to choose from.
Of course, the Los Blancos are not strangers when it comes to winning big games, but the absence of the Santiago Bernabéu faithful means they will have to be at their absolute best to beat Barca who would have Pedri back from injury this weekend.
How the game could go
Real Madrid is superior to Barcelona if you compare these two clubs’ players for players. Carlo Ancelotti’s team has recently appeared labored, and in addition to that loss to Barcelona, they also tied games with Real Betis (0-0) and Atletico Madrid (1-1) away from home.
It will be interesting to see how players like Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema, and Toni Kroos bounce back following their midweek Champions League victory over Liverpool.
Real’s recent struggles against Barcelona and the fact that each of their three league losses this season has occurred on the road are more urgent causes for concern. Real has lost three of their past four games against Barca.
As always, El Clasico will be an exciting game, but Barcelona has been on top in recent editions of this old rivalry, winning four of the last five meetings in all competitions.
Betting Predictions
Barcelona to win
Real Madrid has avoided defeat in the latest visiting H2Hs against Barcelona but the Whites have lost four of the last five overall meetings against Blaugrana. Real Madrid has also won only two of the last five away outings in La Liga, together with two defeats and one draw. On the contrary, Barcelona has registered five victories in the last six games at home, ending one in a draw against Manchester United in Europa League. Given the confident performance at home, we predict Barca with more chances to take the lead in this game. Bet9ja have 2.18, 1xbet have 2.22 and Paripesa have 2.22 odds.
Over 2.5 Goals
Three of the last five meetings of these teams have ended with over 2.5 goals and we predict the same pattern to be followed in this game. Barcelona has rattled the net eight times in the last four meetings at home. In opposition, Real Madrid has hit the target 11 times in the previous four away outings in different competitions. The previous meeting between these sides at Barca’s home also ended with a total of five goals. Bet9ja have 1.85 odds, Paripesa have 1.94, and 1xbet have 1.94 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Barcelona)
Raphinha
It is fair to say that Raphinha did not exactly get off to a fast start when he transferred from Leeds United to Barcelona last summer. He has been significantly more effective in the past few months, contributing to eight direct goals in his last 11 appearances across all leagues. Raphinha has stepped up in place of Ousmane Dembele, who is injured. He has scored the game-winning goal in Barcelona’s last two games against Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, and he will be feeling great going into the game on Sunday. Bet9ja have 4.25 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.60.
Lewandowski
The Polish forward has had a few good games in the El Classico since joining Barcelona and could well register his first goal in this fixture. He has a stellar first season in La Liga and could well be on his way to winning the Pichichi. Today he would be instrumental upfront to help his side reclaim a win. Bet9ja have 2.50 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.05.
Anytime Goalscorer (Real Madrid)
Benzema
Despite a partial injury-plagued season, he leads the race in this Madrid squad for goals. He has scored 11 goals this season and could well add to his tally today. He scored in the reverse fixture earlier this season. We know how much of a big game player he is and that’s why we have him included here Bet9ja have 2.95 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.87 odds.
Vinicius Jr
The young Brazilian is having yet another great season following up on last season’s impressive run. He has scored eight goals and provided four assists this season in La Liga alone. He too scored a goal in the reverse fixture and has a decent record of goal contributions against the Catalan giants. Bet9ja have 3.55 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 4.50.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.