This weekend we have the biggest football fixture! Yes it’s the el Classico! For the first time since 2007 this fixture will be without both Messi (injured) and Ronaldo (moved to Juventus) so some new legends are going to be born here! Barcelona have played well and hit some good form having beaten Sevilla and Inter whereas Real Madrid have only just snapped their 5 game winless run against Plzen in an unconvincing 2-1 Win so there are a ton of questions that surrender Madrid who sit as low as 7th in the table!
Key Facts
Barcelona have a 5W 2D 0L record at Nou Camp this season having scored 24 goals in those 7 games.
Barcelona are unbeaten at Nou Camp since 2017 August in the UEFA Super Cup to…. Real Madrid.
Barcelona’s record without Messi since 2010-11 is 50W 6D 6L in 62 games missed.
Barcelona’s clean sheet against Inter was their first in 6 games.
Barcelona have conceded 8 goals in La Liga in their last 5 league games.
In the previous 15 H2H meetings between these clubs both teams scored in 13 of those games.
Real Madrid are unbeaten at Nou Camp in 4 straight. 2W 2D. Last loss coming in March 2015.
13 of previous 15 H2H meetings had over 2.5 goals between them. On average there are 3.6 goals scored in previous 15 el Classico’s
Real Madrid have only won one away game this season. 1W 1D 3L. They’ve failed to score in 3 of their 5 away games this season. They’ve not kept an away clean sheet this season.
Real Madrid are winless in 4 straight La Liga games losing 3 of those and only scoring one goal.
Real Madrid have only kept 1 clean sheet in their last 6 games.
Karim Benzema’s goal against Plzen was his first in 8 games.
6 of the previous 8 El Classico’s had a red card shown in it. Ramos has been sent off twice in those games
On average there have 7 cards shown per game in the previous 10 Classico’s
Team News
Barcelona: Barca are of course without Lionel Messi who is out with an arm injury. Furthermore, Umtiti and Vermaelen are still injured meaning Pique and Lenglet will start together again at CB as they’re the only available centre backs. We can expect Valverde to use a similar squad as against Inter, but there will be some decisions to make. Brazilian midfielder Arthur is likely to start over Vidal after putting in good shifts consistently while we saw Rafinha come in for Messi and score against Inter which will help him make a case for starting here despite Dembele being an option. Elsewhere expect no changes.
Real Madrid: Real Madrid have been given good news as Marcelo is going to be fit to start. However, other full back Dani Carvajal is still injured. Against Plzen we saw Varane get benched for Nacho and Lucas start at RB but Varane is expected to return to the starting lineup and Nacho to be moved to RB to replace Carvajal. Junior Vinicius is suspended. Elsewhere everyone is healthy for Lopetegui who’s job is going to likely be on the line here. Expect Benzema to start up front after scoring midweek while Courtois will probably come in for Navas as he’s done in league games this season.
Betting Tips and Predictions
Well one thing for sure is we can expect a feisty derby so right away the first pick is over 6.5 cards. These clubs hate each other and we’ve seen cards galore in recent meetings. Plus we have a desperate side in Real Madrid which only puts the chances higher of a high bookings match. Furthermore staying on cards, Ramos to get sent off with the odds of 12.00 is value but don’t put high stakes. Ramos is a very hot headed individual who seemingly gets booked all the time so add that with the fact that it’s an el Classico and his team is frustrated we can definitely see him getting sent off here, he’s been sent off twice in recent Classico’s. We wont touch goals here because this is the first time without Messi and Ronaldo in a long time so its best to just see if these attacking players can respond instead of hoping them to. If we were to pick a winner it’d be Barcelona. They looked impressive without Messi against Inter and even Sevilla creating changes while Madrid are extremely suspect, Lopetegui is in massive trouble and they are simply under so much pressure right now. The prediction is Barca to win 2-1 here.
Match Odds (Unibet)
Barcelona Win – 1.92
Draw – 3.80
Real Madrid Win – 3.90
KICK OFF – 28th October 2018 – 3:15pm UK Time
