El Clasico: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona Preview, Odds and Prediction

El Clasico is probably the biggest game on the planet. For many, it is. We have the opportunity to witness three great derbies this weekend, Juventus vs. Inter, Red Star vs. Partizan, and this one. All of them involve No.1 and No.2 in the standings. Here we have Barca, who is slightly ahead of the Los Blancos, but both sides are looking a bit shaky over the recent few weeks. These aren’t Barcelona and Real from a few years ago once they rolled over all of their opponents with ease. But that is exactly why it might be so interesting.

Preview

Real Madrid (+115) is coming into this match with three straight games at home in which they haven’t won. It is something rare in Real’s history, and also frustrating for the fans. The latest clash was in the Champions League against Manchester City, and it brought a lot of disappointment for Zinedine Zidane and his boys. After having the lead, they allowed two goals in the last 15 minutes of play and were knocked out at Santiago Bernabeu in a pretty unpleasant way. Seven of their previous 10 events saw Over 2.5 scores, and what is a bit interesting, the Madridians allowed goals in five straight contests. The morale is not at the highest possible level after these things, and on top of that, the pressure for defeating Barca is enormous. By the way, Blaugrana has two points more than their rivals.

Barcelona (+225), as you see, the Catalonian team is an underdog in this game, and we are witnessing this after a long time. They, too, look unstable but aren’t losing matches as Real. Barca recorded seven wins, two defeats and a draw over the past 10, with the note that a draw took place this Wednesday in the Champions League against Napoli, 1-1. Previously, Setien’s guys had three wins, all of them with at least three goals involved. But when looking at the matches away from Camp Nou, Barcelona is more than unconvincing, with just one success over the past four road trips. All in all, even though they top La Liga, this might be one of the worst campaigns for them in the last six, seven years.

Latest News

Eden Hazard will be out with a broken ankle. Rodrygo made one very stupid move while playing for the youth team, receiving a red card, and is now suspended.

Barcelona is in a mess. Gerard Pique is questionable, and that might be a massive blow for the guests. Jordi Alba is also under a question mark. Luis Suarez is out for at least six weeks, while Ousman Dembele finished his season. Sergi Roberto is also unavailable for this matchup.

Head to Head Games

Barcelona didn’t lose in seven straight El Clasicos. The last two played here, at Santiago, both finished with their wins, 0-1, and 0-3, and overall, Real hasn’t scored against the Catalonians for more than 354 minutes.

Prediction

This is going to be a very close match, with an accent on defense. Zidane is very careful, and that is his mentality. Disregard the time when he had Ronaldo onboard, and focus on the present. Meanwhile, Setien too can’t be offensive, as his backline looks shredded with injuries. However, we can’t imagine El Clasico without goals, because the offensive potential of these two units is fantastic. There will be a slow and conservative start of the game, but as it develops, things will become more intense. Therefore Over 1.5 goals in the second HT is our choice with the odds at -125.

Pick: Over 1.5 second HT -125