One of the biggest matches in world football returns this week as Real Madrid make the trip to Catalonia to face Barcelona in El Clasico. The visitors have started awfully and sit 8^th whilst the hosts sit top despite being underwhelming.

STATS

• As mentioned, Barca are top of the La Liga table but haven’t been as good as they would have wanted to be. With five wins, three draws and a loss after nine games, they can count themselves lucky to be in the position they are in. They were much better last time out as they dominated the match with a 4-2 win against Sevilla in the league.
• Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid have been nothing short of shocking this term. They have won just four games, lost three and drawn two of their nine matches, scoring just 13 goals in the process. They haven’t won in their last four: drawing with Atletico and losing to Sevilla, Alaves and Levante.
• Only two players in the Spanish top-flight have scored more goals than Lionel Messi this season as the Argentine has seven.
• Real Madrid have struggled massively to find a prolific goalscorer in the league and Gareth Bale leads the way with just three goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

Barcelona will take plenty of confidence from their recent record against their big rivals. They have won four of the last seven meetings with their opponents winning just once. It’s a fixture that always produces goals with over 2.5 goals in 13 of the last 14 matchups whilst both teams have scored in 13 of the last 15.

BARCELONA NEWS

The big injury news heading into the game concerns Messi and his broken arm as he misses out along with Samuel Umtiti. They still have a very strong side and won’t be worried about losing their star man.

Latest matches: FC Barcelona

24.10.2018	UEFA	FC Barcelona	Inter Milan	2:0	W
20.10.2018	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Sevilla FC	4:2	W
07.10.2018	LaLi	Valencia CF	FC Barcelona	1:1	D
03.10.2018	UEFA	Tottenham Hotspur	FC Barcelona	2:4	W
29.09.2018	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Athletic Bilbao	1:1	D

REAL MADRID NEWS

The visitors desperately need a win on Sunday and with just Daniel Carvajal and Vinicius Junior missing out, they need to make their strong squad count. Marcelo should return to the starting line-up.

Latest matches: Real Madrid

23.10.2018	UEFA	Real Madrid	FC Viktoria Plzen	2:1	W
20.10.2018	LaLi	Real Madrid	Levante UD	1:2	L
06.10.2018	LaLi	CD Alaves	Real Madrid	1:0	L
02.10.2018	UEFA	CSKA Moscow	Real Madrid	1:0	L
29.09.2018	LaLi	Real Madrid	Atletico Madrid	0:0	D

SUMMARY

With home advantage and a much better run of form, this is certainly Barcelona’s match to lose, even without Messi in the side. Real Madrid have struggled in the league and I expect that to continue at the Nou Camp where their form isn’t anything to write home about. If you’re feeling brave, it might be worth backing Barca with a -1 handicap.