La Liga Preview: Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Key-stats, Line-ups, Odds, Prediction

Lionel Messi-Barcelona

Real Madrid take on Barcelona in the El Clasico this weekend and this could prove to be a defining game in the context of the title race. 

Venue: Alfredo Di Stefano stadium

Key Statistics

Real Madrid have won 17 of their last 21 home matches (LaLiga).

Barcelona have won their last 9 away matches (LaLiga).

Barcelona have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 away matches (LaLiga).

Real Madrid have scored at least 2 goals in 8 of their last 10 home matches (LaLiga).

Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane will know that a win here could put them in a great position as far as the title race is concerned and the players will be motivated to grind out a victory at home. 

They are coming into this game on the back of a superb 3-1 win over Liverpool during the midweek and the players will be full of confidence. 

Los Blancos are currently third in the table, two points adrift of Barcelona and this is a golden opportunity for them to close the gap with a win. 

Real Madrid picked up a 3-1 win at Camp Nou earlier on in the season and they will be hoping to complete a league double over their greatest rivals. 

Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane are sidelined with injuries and Daniel Carvajal remains a doubt for the home side as well. 

Possible Real Madrid starting line-ups

Thibaut Courtois, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio

Barcelona

The Catalan giants will be hoping to put some daylight between themselves and Real Madrid with a win here. They will be desperate to avenge the defeat at Camp Nou and the players will be fired up for this one. 

Barcelona have won their last nine away games in the league and they will be full of confidence heading into this one. However, they will have seen Real Madrid’s performance against Liverpool and they cannot afford to take the home side lightly. 

Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati are ruled out for the visitors with injuries. 

Possible Barcelona starting line-ups

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Frenkie De Jong, Sergino Dest, Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Jordi Alba, Antoine Greizmann, Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele

Betting Odds

Real Madrid : Draw : Barcelona :: 2.80 : 3.80 : 2.30

Prediction

This should be a cracking match-up between two sides who are in form and they have a lot to play for. Neither side can afford a defeat here.

They are capable of beating each other and this should be a close contest with two sides cancelling each other out in the end. 

Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona