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Sunday, November 29
Kick-off: 6pm GMT

El Classico. The name says it all. This is the heavyweight clash in La Liga between two of the strongest teams in Europe, when at the Camp Nou on Sunday, the world gets treated to the showcase that is Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.

This fixture is more than just a bitter rivalry, it is also a contest to brag as to who really is the best team in Europe. The Spanish league continues to be one of the strongest on the continent, with Barca, Real and Sevilla going well in the Champions League, and the national team recently leap-frogging above Brazil at the top of the FIFA World Rankings. This is a battle between the best of the best, and should produce a classic game, especially if they stick to their game plans and go for broke instead of being cautious. On a day of derby games in the English Premier League, this Spanish rivalry is always one of firey contests, with emotions often running over.

Real Madrid were buoyed by the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo making a 20-minute cameo appearance in their midweek Champions League fixture. That was the ex-Manchester United man’s first run out for his clubs for about eight weeks. For Barcelona, their enigmatic figure, Argentine Lionel Messi, is also fit again after injury, and the derby will see them go head to head in a tussle for supremacy. Barcelona will also welcome back striker Zlatan Imbrahimovic for Sunday’s game. Ronaldo and Messi are the stand out talents on both sides, which is saying something considering the names that get pencilled into the respective team sheets every week.

The amount of  talent on show is simply staggering. Not only is there Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but when you run down a list of names which include Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Guti, Lassana Diarra, Raul, van Nistlerooy, Benzema, Thierry Henry and Iniesta, then the talent is unquestionable. Real Madrid are of course, famed for collecting together the best players in the world, seemingly regardless of cost. It has led them to the current standing of top of La Liga by one point over Barca, but Barca are still unbeaten in the league, whereas Real Madrid have lost one game. A win for Madrid would open up a convincing and commanding lead at the top.

This is new generation of Galacticos in Madrid, backing up the golden generation of the likes of David Beckham and Zinidane Zidane. That injection of cash from Real President Perez, failed to bring home the silverware intended, and actually it gave rise to Barcelona’s success instead. Madrid’s coup of Beckham, meant that Barcelona instead ending up signing some Brazilian guy called Ronaldinho, which would inject good fortunes on the Catalan side. Barcelona won the treble last year, the first team in Spanish history to do so, all under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, who has come under fire this term, due to performances in the Champions League.

The two sides had contrasting games in the Champions League, with Real Madrid getting an expected win over FC Zurich, while Barcelona, who are in a tight battle for a qualification spot, rallied back to their best for a needed win over Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan. Madrid have a lot to prove, after Barcelona ran riot in their last meeting in the league last season, running out 6-2 winners over them. There is actually, having watched the teams ply their trade in the Champions League, a difference in class between the two giants. One thing that stands out, is that Barcelona look to be more of a team unit, while Madrid at times look like strangers still trying to get used to a way of playing with the personnel at their disposal. That could mean that there is a lot more to come from Real Madrid and coach Manuel Pellegrini.

El Classico brings together some of the best players in the world. Barcelona are the stronger of the two sides, and Real Madrid are failing to bring their A-game to the pitch when facing some of the best teams. However, Real Madrid look to be the form team with four wins and draw from their last five league games, whereas Barcelona have won two and drawn three. Camp Nou advantage here though, should mean that Barca will be good enough to take back some initiative in La Liga and press home their dominance over their bitter rivals.

Match Prices:
Barcelona to win: 10/11 at Totesport
Draw: 11/4 at Bet365
Real Madrid to win: 10/3 at Coral

Last four head to head league meetings:
Real Madrid 2 – Barcelona 6
Barcelona 2 – Real Madrid 0
Real Madrid 4 – Barcelona 1
Barcelona 0 – Real Madrid 1

Betting Stats:
Barcelona have a 100% home record
Real Madrid have a 60% away win record
Last 10 matches: Barcelona W7, D3, L0 – Real Madrid W8, D1, L1

Betting Tip: Barcelona -0.75 Asian Handicap – 15/14 at Expekt

Not much stands out for me this weekend, of course Barcelona are flying and scoring goals by the bucket fall so it would be a surprise if Recreativo, fourth from bottom, managed anything other than a sound thrashing but at odds of around 4/11 on Barca, I don’t think I will be taking them, probably just a personally thing but I never feel entirely sure of Barca away.

If you’re feeling brave, a small bet on Gijon to win away at Valencia might be worth a shout, Valencia were surprisingly beaten by Santander in their last home game and when you compare the two teams last five games, Valencia WWDLW and Gijon WWWWL the 9/1 offered by Stan James looks pretty generous.

Espanyol v Numancia

Is probably the only game I will have a little punt at this weekend. Espanyol have looked solid enough especially at home where their only defeat this season came against Barca 2-1 courtesy to a very late and suspect penalty. Espanyol will be looking to push up the league and challenge the top six, whilst Numancia, who have been in poor form, find themselves at the wrong end of the table and will be desperate to pick up something and climb out of the bottom three. Unfortunately for them it doesn’t look likely, considering they’ve failed to pick up a single point away all season, bearing that in mind then prices around 8/11 seem fairly reasonable to me.

Espanyol home win

Osasuna v Athletico Madrid

Osasuna bottom of the table, haven’t won all season are in bad shape and new coach Camacho hasn’t been able to change their fortunes with 3 straight defeats since his arrival. Their main problem is finding the net, defensively they are ok but going forward they offer very little, worse still they are missing 4 or 5 first team players this weekend so anything other than a defeat will be since as a good result. Athletico on the other hand played well in the Champions league at Anfield on Wednesday and were unlucky not to come home with all 3 points, that coming off the back of a good 2-0 win against Mallorca last weekend. Prior to that they drew 4-4 away at Villareal, so clearly then, they can score goals. Athletico will go to Pamplona looking for a win and I think their quality and confidence will more than likely see them through. Prices at around 2.25 make it a worthwhile punt.

Athletico to win

Seville v Recreativo Huelva

Seville are on a losing streak, 0-1 in the Uefa cup Thursday away to Standard Liege, 3-2 away to Valladodid last weekend and worst of all 0-1 at home to Andalucian rivals Malaga the week before. Seville, (who are 5th) are inconsistent but they do have a good squad of players who can mix it both physically and technically with the best of them on their day. Recreativo are poor, 3rd from bottom  and desperate to avoid defeat with the next month bringing a bunch of tough fixtures versus top 4 sides. Both sides need a win and for Seville, at home in front of their vocal fans it’s a great opportunity to stop the rot and get their season back on track. I think they will.

Seville to win

Valencia v Racing Santander

Valencia sit proudly at the top of La Liga, still unbeaten this season and with 4 wins out of 4 at home, 12 goals for and 2 against, whilst hot shot David Villa has 9 goals in 8 games. Racing in contrast are 17th, have won once this season, (against Osasuna) and have just suffered the humiliation of being beaten at home by second division Murcia in the Copa de Rey midweek. Everything points to a home banker….. except the record book which shows us amazingly that Santander have won the last 4 matches between the two sides. That said, Valencia have been immense at home this season and having dropped points last weekend will be going all out to get the 3 this week surely Santander can’t make it 5 can they?

Valencia home win

Sporting Gijon v Numancia

I have to hold my hands up and admit I thought Gijon were going to be in for a long hard season and indeed I happily picked on them to lose week in week out and all was going to plan until the beginning of the month when they rather surprisingly won away at Mallorca. To be fair there had been some signs of improvement since the 7-1 thrashing at Real Madrid, indeed the week before the Mallorca game Gijon had been rather unlucky to lose 1-0 to Villareal. Gijon have now picked up 9 points from the last 3 games, Mallorca, then Osasuna and most impressively of all winning last weekend away against Deportivo La Coruna, 0-3. Numancia have looked reasonably solid since joining La Liga, (coming up with Gijon last season) most games have been pretty tight, losing to Real Madrid 4-3 and Barcelona 1-0 for example and then last weekend picking up all 3 points to win 2-1 against Racing Santander. Interestingly these two teams met in the week in the Copa de Rey with Gijon stealing a 1-0 win away at Numancia. I think this is going to be a close game again but feel the confident youngsters from Gijon, backed by a home crowd will just have enough to keep there winning streak going.

Gijon to win

There’s some interesting games this week from a footballing point of view,  particularly the 2 Derby’s, Sevilla v Malaga and La Coruna v Sporting Gijon but unfortunately few stand out bets for me. Gijon are on a mini revival, whilst La Coruna haven’t really convinced so far, inconsistent, could go either way, with perhaps the draw being the best bet at around 3.40. Elsewhere I’d expect Barcelona to continue there fantastic form at home against Almeria and you’d have to think Real Madrid v Bilbao is the home banker of the weekend although of course odds are low around 1.3 for both games, if you’re lucky,  so nothing to get excited about.

Recreativo Huelva v Valencia

Recreativo are 3rd from bottom and haven’t won in 6 although they did put up a spirited fight last weekend away at Valladolid where they drew 1-1 being slightly unlucky not to take all 3 points, conceding a late goal. Valencia are of course top with 6 wins, 1 draw, 17 goals for and only 4 against. Impressive stats indeed and with no European football or major injuries to worry about you’d have to fancy the likes of Villa, Silva and Mata to give the home side another uncomfortable afternoon, Valencia will definitely expect to win this one and I think they will and at 1.90 with most bookmakers it’s worth a little punt in my opinion.

Valencia to win

Athletico Bilbao v Barcelona

I think we might see some strange results this weekend, not just in La Liga but in all the top leagues in Europe as players return from International duties and there respective travels. On paper Barcelona, who thrashed Athletico Madrid 6-1 before the break should beat Bilbao but personally I’m not so sure. The Catalans had practically the entire first team away so have had very little time to prepare and tired, jet lagged legs could well show. The Basques, on the other hand, have had plenty of time to rest and plan so should be fresh and raring to go. That said Barcelona will be looking to carry on from where they left off so I think on balance this one could end up a draw.

Bilbao 1 -1 Barcelona

Athletico Madrid v Real Madrid

It’s been a difficult week in Madrid with stories of racism and crowd trouble tarnishing both clubs so Saturday night will be a great opportunity to put that to one side and let the football do the talking. Tiredness will not be a valid excuse in this case and both sets of supporters will be looking for a win, all be it for different reasons. Athletico, who started the season well have gone into a real tail spin of late and need to steady the ship. They’ve had a tough time injury wise too so the likely return of Tristan Forlan will be a welcome sight. Real also have good news on that front with Robben likely to be back in the squad. Real have goals and options going forward a plenty but have often been caught out defensively, whilst a wounded Athletico and a passionate atmosphere make me think this game could be reasonably high scoring affair so I’m going for over 2.5 goals for this one.

O/U 2.5 over.

Valencia v Numancia

A quick glance at the league table tells you this should be a home win and I can’t find much reason to dispute that. Numancia have won once in the last six matches whilst Valencia have picked up 15 points from the last five. That said Numancia are no pushovers and won’t be there just to make up the numbers as Barcelona, who they beat and Real Madrid, (eventually losing 4-3) will testify. That said Valencia will be looking at this as 3 points and I expect them to do it.

Valancia 2 – 0 Numancia

Villarreal v Real Betis

Although I think Betis are better than there current position suggests, third from bottom, I can’t see them getting much joy this weekend at Villarreal. Whilst it’s true Betis have had to play Real Madrid, Barcelona and Seville already this season they’ve found it hard to score goals, 4 in 5 games with there 2 points both coming from 0-0 draws. Furthermore there are rumblings of discontent and disharmony with growing pressure on the coach Paco Chaparro’s. Villarreal in stark contrast are flying, sitting joint top with Valencia and with one foot already in the next round of the Champions league after drawing away at Old Trafford and then beating Celtic at home. Villarreal haven’t conceded a goal at home this season and have only let in 2 in the last 7 matches in all competitions. Coach Manuel Pellegrini has practically a full squad to pick from.

Prediction:  Villarreal to win.

Real Madrid v Espanyol

Whilst Madrid’s Athletico travel to Barcelona, Espanyol travel the other way to face Real Madrid, not really what you’d want after a painful defeat in the last minute against there Catalan ‘brothers’  last Sunday, courtesy of a dodgy penalty in the 14th minute of injury time, (crowd trouble). It wasn’t a pretty game to watch but Espanyol really struggled in the second half as Barcelona upped the tempo and hit there stride. That said Espanyol are always a tough nut to crack and I don’t expect them to roll over, they will defend doggedly and look to catch Madrid on the break but I can’t help thinking Madrid’s quality and home advantage will see them through in the end. Real are in great form too, winning there last 6 games and Raul, who was rested in the week, will be hoping to prove a point with a return to the starting 11.

Prediction: Real Madrid to win.

Mallorca v Sporting Gijon

Clearly Sporting Gijon have found life in La Liga hard going and the fixtures list couldn’t of been much crueler, but the team, made up of mostly young inexperienced players, can take some comfort from a spirited display last weekend versus Villarreal where they lost by a single goal. Surely they will eventually pick up some points somewhere won’t they? but probably not this week. Mallorca are unbeaten in 4 and having won the last 2 they will be confident of 3 points this weekend. It’s not particularly clever to keep picking on Sporting Gijon to lose but so far pretty profitable!

Prediction: Mallorca to win.

Espanyol v Barcelona

This will be the last Catalan derby to be played in the old Olympic stadium up on Montjuic before Espanyol, (in theory) move to there shiny new stadium on the outskirts of the city, so I’d imagine everyone at the club will be extra keen to avoid defeat this weekend. The recent form book doesn’t look too bad either, indeed they won the corresponding fixture last year 3-1.  This season Espanyol have made a decent start W2, D1, L1 but have found scoring goals hard to come by scoring 3, conceding 3. Saturday they are also expecting to be without 5 first team players including new boy Steve Finnan.

Barcelona on the other hand started the season badly but have had a good week thanks to an easy trip to poor Gijon and a narrow win Wednesday night against Betis. That said all is not quite as it should be at Camp Nou and they are leaking goals at the back, failing to keep a clean sheet so far this season. 

Prediction: I expect a tight game but think Espanyol will be worthy of a  1-1  Draw

Sporting Gijon v Villareal

Sporting Gijon have started the season like there looking to set some sort of record, I’m beginning to feel sorry for them already! True the fixtures list has been particularly unkind to them but leaking 19 goals in 4 games with 0 points tells it’s own story. At the same time they face a team that look intent on proving that last season was no fluke. Admittedly Villareal haven’t played any of the current top ten but notching up 3 wins and 1 draw plus an impressive point away at Man U in the Champions League would suggest that Villareal mean business again this season. An obvious choice maybe but I think 8/13 at Paddypower actually offers reasonable value for 2nd v bottom and I just can’t see how a confidence shot Gijon will be able to get any kind of a result Saturday evening.

Prediction; Gijon 1-2 Villareal

Valencia v Deportivo La Coruna

Despite a turbulent summer Valencia have surprised many by starting the season in fine form, 3 wins and 1 Draw which came away versus the spirited Almeria. In David Villa they have a prolific goal scorer and in midfielder Juanma Mata is catching the eye. La Coruna on the other hand are not looking convincing at all, they’ve marked up just one win, (away at Real Madrid surprisingly) 2 draws and 1 defeat, plus a less than impressive 2-0 lose in the Uefa cup away to Brann in Norway. Also cause for concern is there distinct lack of goals, 2 all season. Valencia will be looking to extend there lead at the top and I can’t see Deportivo causing them too many problems.

Prediction: Valencia 2 – 0 Deportivo La Coruna

Folks,

Welcome to my post, I am to deliver previews of the biggest European games each weekend as well as in-depth analysis of how to make you money. I have an accurate strategy which aims to minimize risk and utilise a spread betting systemhealthy return which should still guarantee an .

I am based in the UK but have contacts in Scotland, Spain and Italy meaning an up-to-date insight of European Football. My picks this weekend will focus on teams on the road, therefore better odds on top teams, when teams are playing away they are quite unpredictable, but if you bet across numerous leagues picking big teams then the risk is lessened.

The English Premiership drums up some very interesting fixtures this weekend.

As an avid Liverpool fan, I have to discuss the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool were uninventive against Stoke and lazy against Crewe yet they still remain undefeated in the league. How £40 million pounds worth of strikers haven’t clicked yet, I do not know, it drives me up the walls without being too bias. This match is always fiery and produces goals, it’s maybe Robbie Keanes time to step up to the plate and produce the goods. Im sticking my neck on the line and going for an away win, Everton are scoring goals with Cahill getting back to form but their defence is hardly water tight at the moment.

Back Liverpool, odds (6/5).(Bet Direct/Skybet/Stan James)

Newcastle are on a downward spirral at the moment, the talk of El Tel taking over will also not bear will with the faithful Geordies. The talks with a Nigerian consurtium are also promising, the sooner Mike Ashley moves on the better. They need stability, security, and patience. Whether King Kev returns or not, the new manager should be given sufficient time and money, but this weekend I feel spells more doom and gloom, even Tottenham beat Newcastle this week!! Blackburn to edge this one just.

Back Blackburn, odds (2/1)(Ladbrokes)

My other picks for this weekend in the Premiership are Chelsea (2/5) Bet 365) to easily overturn Stoke, and Man City (7/5) Ladbrokes) (Goal Machines) to overturn Wigan in a game that will produce a lot of drama.

The Scottish divisions are a speciality of mine, I have lived in Edinburgh for three years and the Scottish people are very passionate about their football. I have learnt a lot from uber enthusiam regarding the beautiful game, fitba as they call it.

My Scottish banker this weekend is – Rangers.

Rangers to come to Edinburgh and take all three points against Hibs. Rangers only have the league to play for this year, and Hibs are just getting over a somewhat sticky start. ( Back Rangers 8/11 (Bet 365)

Across Europe we also have some interesting teams on the road. All three teams have performed comfortably well on the road recently, both Barca and Madrid hammered the helpless Sporting Gijon, so I feel Villareal will comfortably follow suit. I can’t help but add Real Madrid and Barcelona to my coupons, they have superstars thoughout their team and are arguably world beaters on their day. Just be careful to mix your away selections accordingly picking one or two teams from each league, reducing the risk.

Villareal vs Sporting Gijon.(4/6 Ladbrokes)

Barcelona vs Espanyol. (17/20 Centrebet)

Real Madrid vs Betis. (9/10 Betdirect)

Apologies I have recently fractured my thumb and typing is frustrating at the moment, anyway best of luck this weekend, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions!!

Gerard