Real Madrid V Barcelona (El Clasico)
Saturday, 10th April – 21:00 (GMT)
Spanish La Liga
LIVE on Sky Sports 1
Matt’s Tip: Gonzalo Higuain Anytime Scorer – 2.38 SkyBet
Current Match Odds
Real Madrid – 2.62 VCbet
Barcelona – 2.80 StanJames
Draw – 3.60 bWin
Team News
Gerard Pique, who was suspended for Barcelona’s second leg tie with Arsenal in midweek, will now slide straight back into the Barcelona defence, while Carles Puyol will do the exact same after also missing the midweek tie. Eric Abidal limped off though during the game with Arsenal and will not feature for the Catalan side for several weeks, so Maxwell will deputise at left-back. Andres Iniesta hasn’t played an awful lot of football after suffering with injury, but was a second half substitute on Tuesday so could play a part for Barca on Saturday night, although Thierry Henry may have to settle for a place on the Barcelona bench.
Kaka, the Brazilian maestro, is out of El Clasico after failing in his bid to recover from a thigh problem. The Brazil ace hasn’t made quite the impact Madrid fans were hoping, but he’s a player for the big occasion and will sorely be missed. It goes worse though as Xabi Alonso, the engine in that Real midfield, is also a doubt.
Brief Preview
Despite these two sitting side-by-side in La Liga, with just Real’s superior goal difference keeping them on top of the table, the bookies only see one winner; Barcelona. El Santiago Bernabeu will be the setting for this highly anticipated encounter between two of the worlds biggest football clubs, a stadium where Barcelona won 6-2 in their last El Clasico meeting.
However, Madrid will strongly fancy their chances of avenging that humiliating result, a result which some Spanish pundits claim forced Real’s directors into drastic summer action, the sort of action which resulted in the likes of Ronaldo, Alonso and Kaka being brought in as several hundred million was shelled out during last summer in a bid to close the gap on their bitter rival. While there were some sceptics, their plan to buy success has clearly worked – sort of – as Real currently lead the way in La Liga by virtue of a better goal difference. The gap, though, is just one goal and even a draw would send Barcelona back to the top of the table as their head-to-head would be better after a 1-0 success back at the Nou Camp earlier in the season.
Real Madrid’s Home Form: 15-0-0
As you can clearly see, Real have been prolific and unstoppable at home this season, and yet you can still get 2.62 with VCbet on Real avenging the Nou Camp defeat on Saturday. When you consider that not one team has been able to stop them at home this season, that’s a staggering price. There have, however, been enough scares along the way mind; Sevilla’s and Athletico Madrid’s 3-2 losses at the Bernabeu are two of the more high profile ones and two games which Madrid were fortunate to come through unscathed.
Overall: Real Madrid are in scintillating form at present having won 12 on the spin in La Liga. They average 3.33 goals at home (50) and concede just under 1 a game – 0.86 (13).
Barcelona’s Away Form: 10-4-1
While it may not look as tidy as Real’s home form, Barcelona have still been mighty impressive away from home and have just one defeat to feel bitter about. However, even that defeat wasn’t too shameful as it was against a dangerous Athletic Madrid side, the same side which nearly put an end to Madrid’s 100% home record a few weeks ago. That solitary loss came in February and Barcelona are now on a three match unbeaten run away from home, while they’ve won their previous two away fixtures in la Liga.
Overall: Barcelona have picked themselves up remarkably since losing at Athletico, worryingly in Madrid, and are now unbeaten in La Liga in eight games, winning seven of those. They are also on a five match winning run in the league. They average 2.13 (32) goals away from home and are conceding at an average of 0.66 (10) which is a better defensive record than Madrid’s home one.
Leading Goalscorers (La Liga)
Real Madrid:
Gonzalo Higuain – 24
Cristiano Ronaldo – 18
Barcelona:
Lionel Messi – 26
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 15
Possible Bets:
Ronaldo FGS – 5.00 SkyBet
Ronaldo any time Scorer – 2.20 Coral
Gonzalo Higuain FGS – 5.50 Bet365
Gonzalo Higuain any time Scorer – 2.38 SkyBet
Lionel Messi FGS – 5.50 PaddyPower
Lionel Messi any time Scorer – 2.20 totesport
Lionel Messi Hat Trick – 29.00 totesport
