Arguably the biggest club rivalry in world football returns to La Liga this weekend as Barcelona make the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu in the fourth El Clasico of the season.

STATS

• Real Madrid have struggled to hit their usual heights this term following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and are 3^rd in the table nine points off top spot. Their recent form has improved though and they have won six of their last seven in the league whilst also getting a good away result in the Champions League. They had to rely on two penalties last time out as they narrowly beat Levante 2-1.
• Barcelona are on their way to another title defence as they sit at the summit of the Spanish top-flight, seven points clear of their closest challengers Atletico. They are unbeaten in their last 13 league games which has allowed them to maintain their distance from the chasing pack. After a draw away at Lyon in the Champions League, they beat Sevilla 4-2.
• Karim Benzema has been the man in the spotlight for Real Madrid this season and following a slow start, he’s starting to put together some form with 11 league goals.
• The two frontrunners for the Golden Boot belong to Barca as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez lead the way with 25 and 16 goals respectively.

HEAD TO HEAD

Barcelona have been dominant over their rivals in the last few seasons as they are unbeaten in the last five Clasicos. Home advantage doesn’t seem to be a staple in this fixture as the Catalans’ last victory at the Bernabeu came just three days ago in the Copa Del Rey. There have been over 2.5 goals in four of the last five games and both teams have scored in three.

REAL MADRID NEWS

If Los Blancos want any chance of winning the league, it is imperative that they pick up three points on Saturday. Nacho Fernandez is suspended for the clash while Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema are doubtful. Isco returned to training this week so may feature.

Latest matches: Real Madrid

27.02.2019	Copa	Real Madrid	FC Barcelona	0:3	L
24.02.2019	LaLi	Levante UD	Real Madrid	1:2	W
17.02.2019	LaLi	Real Madrid	Girona FC	1:2	L
13.02.2019	UEFA	Ajax Amsterdam	Real Madrid	1:2	W
09.02.2019	LaLi	Atletico Madrid	Real Madrid	1:3	W

BARCELONA NEWS

Another win for the visitors would see them take another big step towards the title and they have an almost full-strength side with just Rafinha out injured.

Latest matches: FC Barcelona

27.02.2019	Copa	Real Madrid	FC Barcelona	0:3	W
23.02.2019	LaLi	Sevilla FC	FC Barcelona	2:4	W
19.02.2019	UEFA	Olympique Lyon	FC Barcelona	0:0	D
16.02.2019	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Real Valladolid	1:0	W
10.02.2019	LaLi	Athletic Bilbao	FC Barcelona	0:0	D

SUMMARY

Despite Barcelona’s dominance in the last few seasons, the El Clasico is one fixture that is always so hard to predict. However, it does seem as though the league-leaders will come away from the Spanish capital with another victory. There is also a high chance of over 2.5 goals with both sides scoring a lot of goals recently.