Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Latest Form Guide, Live Stream and Predictions
Saturday will bring fans of Spanish football the very first Clasico of the 2014-15 season, as Barcelona and Real Madrid both look to carry on their dominant form when they go head-to-head at the Bernabeu.
The Catalans' 2014-15 campaign has been near perfect so far, leading La Liga without conceding a single goal in the first eight matches.
Los Blancos overcame a rocky start and are playing as well as ever, so Saturday's fixture has all the makings of another classic battle between two of the biggest clubs in the world.
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Date: Saturday, Oct. 25
Time: 5 p.m. BST/Noon ET
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports 5 (from 5.15 p.m. for UK viewers) and BeIN Sports USA (for US viewers), with mobile coverage available via the Sky Go appand BeIN Sports Connect.
Form Guide
The hosts have won five straight since losing to city rivals Atletico Madrid in September, riding a red-hot group of attackers to a series of impressive wins.
As reported by WhoScored.com, Real's 30 goals leads the league by a wide margin, and half of those have come from the same player—Cristiano Ronaldo, the current Ballon d'Or holder.
Los Blancos do have two losses to their nam, but both came early in the season and are nothing but a distant memory at this point.
Barcelona are undefeated through eight matches, winning seven of those contests. The duo of Lionel Messi and Neymar is finding incredible success, but their greatest asset has perhaps been their defence, which is yet to concede a goal.
Claudio Bravo's 720 minutes without letting in a goal is the longest such streak to start a La Liga campaign, but, via the club's official website, the stopper credited his teammates after the win over Eibar. Speaking to Barca TV, he said:
"The thing that makes me happiest is winning, although I'm not completely ignoring the shutout streak. My job is to keep the other team from scoring. Eibar almost got one tonight but we won a tough match. I'm extremely grateful when an attacker comes back on defence. I think the whole team deserve credit.
"
Real have scored in every league match this season—Barca are yet to concede. On Saturday, something will have to give.
Predictions
Lionel Messi Will Tie, Not Break La Liga's Scoring Record
Messi's goal against Eibar was the 250th of his phenomenal career, and as shared by OptaJoe, he's just one strike away from tying La Liga's all-time record set by Telmo Zarra, the legendary Athletic Bilbao forward:
For weeks, fans and pundits have been speculating what would happen if the record would be equalled or broken at the Bernabeu. League officials undoubtedly hoped the Argentina international would have broken it by now, as it would have made the celebrations far easier.
Instead, Messi will have a chance to tie Zarra in the stadium of Barcelona's most hated rivals. If his strong performance against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League is any indication, he sure seems to be in top form.
The forward has scored in six straight games, via WhoScored, and expect that streak to continue. But with the presence of Neymar, and Luis Suarez set to make his debut, expect Messi to take on the role of supplier rather than poacher for the majority of the match.
Small side prediction: If he does tie (or even break) the record, the Bernabeu will give the forward a standing ovation. They might despise him, but the Bernabeu crowd understand greatness and respect when they see it. La Liga president Javier Tebas has the same belief, as he told Marca (h/t Goal's Ruper Fryer):
"On that same pitch I've seen the crowd give [Diego] Maradona and Ronaldinho a standing ovation. I think Spanish football realises how important the player is to our league. Real Madrid fans know football and have always been a very gentlemanly crowd. If they've applauded these two superstars, why wouldn't they applaud Messi?
"
Not only will the Bernabeu applaud the Argentina forward—Ronaldo will personally acknowledge the feat by shaking Messi's hand after the celebrations.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Streak Ends Claudio Bravo's
Real Madrid haven't just scored in every La Liga match they've played so far—Ronaldo himself is yet to go a match without scoring, per WhoScored. His scoring streak will go head-to-head with Bravo's phenomenal start to the season, and one has to come to an end.
The Blaugrana deserve a ton of credit for going eight matches without conceding, but some context is in order. They've yet to play any of the top attacking teams in La Liga, and Eibar's Ander Capa really should have ended the streak last week, via Bleacher Report UK:
An in-form Ronaldo won't miss chances like that, and judging by Gerard Pique's dreadful showing against Ajax, Barcelona's defence may not be in as great a shape as the statistics would lead you to believe. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan described one of many poor moments from the Spain international:
Javier Mascherano was excellent on Tuesday, and should Sergio Busquets be fit in time for El Clasico, the Argentine will likely move back to his usual slot in defence. But even with Mascherano leading the charge, Los Blancos have too much talent not to at least come away with a goal.
