Barca to maintain 100% home record
With only two goals separating these two at the summit of La Liga, the stakes are high for the first El Clasico of the season. Real Madrid face the mammoth task of Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 as of today’s draw, a tough one compared to Barcelona’s tie with Napoli who currently sit eighth in Serie A. The spotlight will be surrounding Lionel Messi as it always is especially at Camp Nou, looking to add to his 18 goals against Real.
Recent form
Quite staggeringly both teams have found the net in all of the last 15 head-to-head encounters, setting this up to be another feisty affair. The hosts especially feel like more of a top heavy team, with perhaps the opposite for the visitors, leaving the focus on the Catalan Giants to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and push on for a third consecutive La Liga title, a draw would be seen as a successful outcome for Zinedine Zidane’s men.
Ernesto Valverde’s side have a 100% winning home record so far in 2019/20 however they have only kept one clean sheet in that seven-game stretch in the league. Their dominance has increased of late though winning four of the last five in front of the home faithful by three or more goals. Both teams have scored before half time in Barca’s last three games on the bounce.
TheGalacticos are unbeaten in 11 since defeat to Mallorca, including snatching a point from the Mestalla in their last outing. With joint league top scorer Karim Benzema equalising in the 95thminute, the Frenchman has 12 strikes and five assists this term.
Karim Benzema
The focal point of Real’s attack is 6/5 to score at anytime with bet365 and is enjoying one of his best starts to a season of his career. The striker has kicked on at club level having been frozen out of the French national teamsince 2015 and will be celebrating his 32nd birthday the day after El Clasico. This his tenth season with the Galacticos, Benzema is more important than ever and is sure to cause havoc on the sometimes fragile pairing of Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet. The pressure is off the Galacticos for once on Wednesday evening and that could release the shackles and see them beat Barcelona for the first time since the 2017 UEFA Super Cup final.
Barcelona’s dominant home form will continue as they overrun Real in midfield and create enough chances to get the three points.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
An impressive away performance saw Real Madrid be arguably the better team and come away from Barcelona with a well earned point.