It’s Ronaldo vs. Messi, it’s Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, it’s the derby of all derbies, it’s the EL CASICO!!! Finally, we have the two top Spanish teams go face-to-face in a match-up that could have not been more important for either team. The entire season is on the line for both teams, this is what they have been working for and the fans worldwide have been anticipating. The season has come to the point that the El Clasico will most likely decide the Champion of the La Liga. In fact, if the Los Blancos celebrate on Sunday, Barcelona will be on mission impossible of winning the Spanish League, considering that Real Madrid has three points advantage and a game less. However, if Blaugrana celebrates in the El Clasico, then the Catalonian side is back in the battle for the trophy. In case of a draw, then neither team will be able to allow any more slip ups against their upcoming opponents. In their first meeting of the season, the two teams split the points, drawing the game with 1:1.
REAL MADRID vs. BARCELONA FC – El Clasico
3-Way: 1: Real Madrid +120 Home; X: +309 Draw; Barcelona FC +229 Away
Spread -0.5: Real Madrid +120; Barcelona FC -122
Total +3.5: Over +100; Under -106
REAL MADRID
The Real Madrid has successfully passed one of the tests as their season is closing down and the battle for trophies intensifies. Namely, the Los Blancos have skipped over the German powerhouse FC Bayern Munich in two games. Real Madrid has defeated the German side in their first game at the Allianz Arena with 2:1. On Tuesday night, Bayern revenged the defeat with the same result, sending the game into overtime. With some help from the referees and a better focus, the Los Blancos scored three goals in the extra time, making it the final 4:2 (aggregate 6:3) and advancing into the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid missed a lot of opportunities to finish the game against the Bayern in the regular time, but failed to do so and had to dig deep in the extra period in order to advance into the next stage.
However, their next test might be even bigger, because they face the Barcelona FC in the Spanish League Round 33. If we look at the La Liga, Real Madrid is currently in a good position, currently holding the top spot of the league with a total of 75 points in 31 games played so far. Although the Los Blancos had their ups and downs during the season, especially against a much weaker opposition, their fans could be more than proud that their team has made it this far on several fronts and that the two most important trophies are still in sight. It is safe to say that the match-up against Barcelona will decide the Champion of the Spanish league.
The team has been pretty consistent going into this derby, winning a total of 13 points in their last 5 games. They are 6-0-1 in their last 7 games in La Liga and 3-0-2 in their last 5 home games. Overall record is 23-6-2 and 12-0-4 at home. The Los Blancos most recently played a 1:1 draw against their fierce city rivals Atletico Madrid. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid has scored an outstanding 40 goals while conceding only 15 goals. Overall, they have scored 82 goals and allowed 33 goals to their opposition.
Real Madrid has been led by their superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who is topping the team in scoring with a total of 19 goals, a little underachievement compared to the previous seasons, but the most important fact is that his team is at the top of the league. In addition, Ronaldo almost single handedly led the Los Blancos to the Semi-finals of the Champions League, scoring a total of 5 goals in the two match-ups against Bayern Munich. Alvaro Morata is right behind him with 12 goals and 2 assists, while Benzema has collected 9 goals.
Pepe (upper body injury) and Raphael Varane (muscle injury) will not play in the El Clasico on Sunday, but according to some reports, the Los Blancos could be able to see their star Gareth Bale on the pitch as he close to return from his calf injury.
BARCELONA FC
The BARCELONA FC is facing the worst possible scenario of all, losing the battle for the two most important trophies in a matter of only couple of days. They were hoping to win at least one of the two big trophies, either the UEFA Champions league or the La Liga. Now that hope is trimmed down to only the Spanish League trophy, considering that the Blaugrana has seen the exit door from the Champions league competition after losing on a 0:3 aggregate score to the Italian champions Juventus FC. In the first game against the Italian side, Barcelona lost 0:3 in Italy, while going 0:0 Camp Nou on Wednesday. They failed to pull a miraculous comeback, like they did against the PSG.
Now, the only hope to save the season is to win the La Liga. They currently hold the 2nd spot with a total of 72 points in 32 games, three points behind the Real Madrid. In their last five games, Barcelona has won 4 and lost 1 game, for a total of 12 points. Their overall record is 22-6-4 but on the road they went 10-3-3 holding the 2nd spot on the away table as well with 33 points won and a 3-2 record in their last 5 road games. The Blaugrana team is the most efficient team of the La Liga with a total of 91 goals scored, while at the same time they have conceded a total of 30 goals. On the road, Barcelona has scored 42 goals (tied for the 1st place with Real Madrid) and conceded 17 goals.
The fact that Barcelona has two top scorers in the league on their team, will not help them much if they fail to win all three points in the El Clasico on Sunday. Namely, Lionel Messi tops the league in scoring with 29 goals and 8 assists, while Luis Suarez comes in behind with 24 goals and 12 assists. The Brazilian star Neymar has been quite this season with 9 goals and 9 assists only.
Neymar is also one of the players that will miss the Sundays El Clasico clash as he is certain to miss being booked with the red card in the previous contest. Rafinha is also sidelined with a knee injury while Vidal is still dealing with ankle problems.
All things considered, this El Clasico might actually not be that efficient, despite all expectations. Real Madrid would be more than happy to win one point only, which means that they will not be under the pressure to chase the win and therefore could play more defensively, waiting for the Blaugrana to make mistakes. On the other side, Barcelona is still shaken up after the Champions League exit and it is a question if they will be able to do much damage on the offensive side of the pitch. Go with the Under 3.5 goals and a possible draw.
MY PICK: Under 3.5 goals (-106)
Additional Pick: Draw X (+309)
