Real Madrid vs Barcelona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-10-25 19:00.
[p]The first El Clásico of the season takes place with the familiar situation of Real Madrid and Barcelona occupying the top two places in La Liga. It’s the hosts with the catching up to do as they trail their fierce rivals by three points – not that coming from behind should faze them after beating Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday having trailed 2-0 at the break.[/p]
[p]With Los Blancos (W31, D11) on the cusp of matching Barcelona’s record of 43 La Liga games unbeaten, manager Carlo Ancelotti celebrated his 200th league game in charge with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo last weekend. Preserving their unbeaten run at home that stretches back to April 2023 (W33, D7) looks more challenging considering they’ll be without the injured Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo, but confidence should still be high as they’ve only lost one of the last five league H2Hs they’ve hosted (W4).[/p]
[p]While Ancelotti is a veteran of 16 Clásicos (W9, L7), this will be Hansi Flick’s first experience of Spain’s biggest derby since the German took over at Barcelona in the summer. He’s boosted by being able to call on Gavi and FermĂn LĂłpez, both of whom returned to action against Sevilla during a comfortable 5-1 win that means they’ve won 13 of their last 14 La Liga matches (L1), giving them hope of avoiding a fifth straight H2H defeat.[/p]
[p]The free-scoring Catalans – who also thrashed Bayern Munich 4-1 on Wednesday – have struck an average of 3.5 goals per game across their last four league away fixtures (W3, L1) and have scored at least twice in each of their last ten such matches (W7, L3). That sequence began during this fixture last term (L 3-2) when the Blaugrana were only denied by a late Jude Bellingham strike.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Real Madrid’s Lucás Vasquez is proving an able deputy for the injured Dani Carvajal, notably lashing home their third goal against Dortmund in midweek. He also won a penalty, scored and registered an assist in last season’s corresponding fixture. Barcelona’s FermĂn LĂłpez, who also scored in this fixture last term, has already laid on two assists since returning from injury, both coming in the first half against Bayern.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: There were goals in each half of 12 of the last 13 H2Hs (Real Madrid: W9, L4).[/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington[/i][/p]