El Clasico Betting Preview

Sunday’s meeting between Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu will be the 244th meeting between the sides, and the 180th league match between the sides. Barcelona will go into the game with the knowledge that a victory over their rivals will increase their lead at the top of the table to five points, Madrid victory however will see Los Blancos overtake Barcelona at the top of the table by one point.

The meeting between the clubs at the Nou Camp earlier in the season was one to forget as neither side were capable of opening the scoring in a 0-0 draw. However, considering that both Real Madrid and Barcelona have scored in 11 of their last 13 games, both teams to score (BTTS) looks favourable, with Sky Bet offering an 8/15 price on that being the case.

Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid go into the game in poor form, having lost three of their last five games, including a 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League. Despite the recent home defeat, Madrid’s league home form has been impressive, winning eight of their last 11 league games at the Bernabeu.

If you think that Real Madrid will make amends for their recent poor form and pick up three points against their rivals, Bet365 are offering a 5/4 price on a home victory.

Barcelona head to the Spanish capital in good form, as the Catalans have picked up three victories in their last four games, with the other result being a hard-fought draw against Napoli in their Champions League round of 16 first leg. However, away from home, Barcelona aren’t on their best run of form, as the Catalonia side have only won one of their last four away games. Regardless of current form, you can’t ignore the quality that Barcelona possess, considering that they have won 17 of their 25 league games this season it could be worth backing the Catalans to increase their lead at the top of the table, with Sky Bet offering a 2/1 price on that being so.

It will be no surprise to you that no player has scored more La Liga goals this season than Lionel Messi, as the Argentine has scored 18 goals in 20 league appearances so far this season, including four goals in his last league game against Eibar. Naturally, the Barcelona winger’s good form has made him the bookies’ short-priced favourite to score in the game, with Sky Bet offering a 6/5 price to score at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, will be looking to top scorer Karim Benzema who has scored 18 goals in all competitions for Los Blancos this season. The Frenchman is set to make his 500th for Madrid on Sunday evening and if you’re a romantic and think that he will be the hero for the occasion, you can back him at 5/4 with Sky Bet.