El Clasico: Real Madrid - FC Barcelona Preview
The biggest football derby is back this week as Spain’s biggest two teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona are ready to face off in the 243rd El Clasico. Real Madrid are going to face Barcelona in Madrid on Sunday 01.03.2020.
Barcelona head into the game two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table. After a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou in the first Clásico of the season, both sides will be eager to pick up a win and take hold of La Liga as the season enters its final months. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are going to be under a lot of pressure because they are so close at the top and you never know which game might be the deciding one.
Form
As we have already mentioned, both teams are on the top and they will definitely remain there, the question is, who will be a first-team on the standings? Looking at their last five matches, Barcelona is definitely in a better spot. Real Madrid need the win more, but Barcelona look set to get better and better under Setien. Barcelona are also unbeaten in their last seven matches against Real Madrid. Barcelona have won last three away games against Real Madrid and they are definitely looking sharp coming up into this meeting. This El Clasico is easily the biggest game of the season in Spain. Madrid have now lost three of their last five games in all competitions so it really is crunch time for Zinedine Zidane’s side in this Sunday night’s El Clasico as they aim to come back at the top of the table.
Injuries
Barcelona have a couple of key players listed out due to injury and it will be definitely a tough task for coach to make a tactic. Ousmane Dembele will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign having recently undergone surgery on a hamstring injury. Luis Suarez underwent an operation in January after damaging the external meniscus on his right knee. The Uruguay international is out for the foreseeable future. Jordi Alba picked up a groin injury in the early stages of the clash with Getafe on February 15. The Spanish champions have not put a timeframe on his return. Sergi Roberto has been ruled out for three to four weeks with an adductor injury.
Real Madrid are without Hazard, Rodrygo and Asensio. They have some long term injuries but they are still in a better place from Barcelona. We believe that Barcelona should have bigger problems looking at their depth.
Game prediction
Bookies are favorizing Real Madrid and they definitely have to be respected because of their home record in this season. This is going to be a very difficult game for both teams because there is so much on stake. Considering their previous El Clasico meetings, we believe that Barcelona should be a slight favorite in this clash. As we have already mentioned, both teams are struggling with their injuries but Barcelona has Messi, one of the best players in the world and you can always expect him to step up when needed. We have already seen that many times how deciding he is and there is so much on a stake so he will definitely be locked in for this game. The last Clasico back in December ended 0-0 but the form of both teams makes it difficult to see a repeat in the offing. Real Madrid have gone five games in all competitions without a clean sheet, conceding 10 times in that span, although they have also scored 10 times.
The odds on Barcelona to win are 3.10 and we believe that we definitely have a value bet on them. Other than that, both teams to score seems like the most likely option for this matchup but the odds are not so high there (1.58).
