Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Odds, Betting Tips, Team News and Prediction
The two most decorated outfits in Spanish football will revive their most bitter rivalry this Sunday as Real Madrid make the trip to face Barcelona in this weekend's El Clasico clash.
As one of the most anticipated fixtures in Europe, any meeting between the two factions presents world-class entertainment, only made better when one has a little something extra riding on the result.
According to Oddsshark.com, Barca head into Sunday's tie as 100-149 favourites, with second-place Real pitched at 7-2 prior to their Catalonia expedition.
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Calling a winner in this fiercely contested fixture is always tough, but we've outlined a selection of betting platforms ahead, along with team news and match prediction.
Betting Tips
With 62 La Liga goals scored between them this season, Lionel Messi (32) and Cristiano Ronaldo (30) will naturally court a massive wave of attention in terms of who can draw first blood this Sunday.
The pair will undoubtedly be among the prime candidates to score first at the Camp Nou, and Oddschecker.com have Messi installed at 7-2 to bag first, with Ronaldo just behind him at odds of 9-2.
Real haven't failed to score in a league visit to the Camp Nou since 2010, and an outside option to lead their assault this weekend could be Karim Benzema, whom Oddschecker have pitched at 11-4 to score any time.
With 13 goals to his name, the French attacker is a far cry from the prolific standards of team-mate Ronaldo, but Benzema scored in Real's 3-1 derby victory last October and has some high spirits ahead of Sunday, per Inside Spanish Football:
"We know that there’s a lot of pressure, but that’s normal because it’s a huge match. Every player who loves football wants to play in it. We’re going to prepare well for the match, all together, to go to Barcelona and win. We’re only thinking about working hard to win together, as always. If we defend well we can do it.
We can repeat the result from the first half of the season. We’re in good shape to win and put in a performance like the one we put in. We’re Real Madrid. To score again like I did in our first meeting of the season, I need a bit of luck and nothing else.
"
Los Blancos had to come back from behind to win the reverse fixture in Spain's capital earlier this season, and the Blaugrana can be found at odds as high as 21-1 to come back from a half-time deficit and emerge as victors.
Alternatively, the hosts are at 8-5 to be leading at half-time and go on to win at the final whistle, with Barcastuff pointing out that Luis Enrique's side have a habit of defending their leads well:
"Barcelona have this season won all the games in which they were ahead at half time #fcblive [via @barca19stats]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) March 21, 2015"
Team News and Prediction
Having each gone through their share of suspension and injury misery this season, both Barcelona and Real Madrid are in relatively fine fighting shape for this weekend's collision.
Per Spanish newspaper Sport, Sergio Busquets is the chief concern for Barca, and the defensive midfielder recently used a day off to train in a bid to get match fit:
Busquets is expected to feature in Enrique's squad, but it remains unclear as to whether he'll start on Sunday, while Dani Alves makes his way back into the side after serving a one-match suspension.
Luka Modric will continue his migration back into Carlo Ancelotti's side, and according to Spanish newspaper AS, his partnership alongside Toni Kroos will be revived after a lengthy period of waiting:
The engine room will therefore be the main area of focus, and should Busquets not be back in time to start, it means Andres Iniesta or Ivan Rakitic will have more defensive priorities on their mind than might be preferred.
Those extra responsibilities could prove beneficial to the pairing of Kroos and Modric in dictating midfield momentum but perhaps not enough to decide the tie in itself.
Having won just one of their last three La Liga outings and looking uninspired in front of goal lately, Real are underdogs for a reason coming into this fixture.
In the end, it may well be the defences that decide the fixture, and Ancelotti's back line has suffered too many setbacks of late to look anything other than vulnerable.
