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El Clasico gets its first run of the campaign on Saturday, with Real Madrid hosting Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga. The Catalan giants are leading the way and have been better than their capital rivals so far this season, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men are just three points behind in second place, making this an important encounter. Win and Real have made up ground on Barcelona, which seemed unlikely even a few weeks ago given the fast start under Hansi Flick, but a draw or win for the visitors really gives them a strong title race advantage.
Los Blancos have won their last four meetings in all competitions, including a La Liga double last season, with the meeting ending 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu as part of an unbeaten home run against the Blaugrana dating back to early 2022. Real defeated Celta Vigo 3 -2 last time in their own country while a 5-2 midweek thrashing of Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League has improved their situation in the continental rankings. It remains difficult for Kylian Mbappe to match the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, but a win here would complete an encouraging early-season recovery.
Barcelona have started life brilliantly under Flick with a 5-1 thrashing of Sevilla in La Liga, followed by a 4-1 thumping of Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The German couldn’t have started better and with players returning from a major injury crisis, the Catalans should only get stronger. This is part of a derby doubleheader with Espanyol next and the chance to create a potential six-point lead over Real will be very attractive for the Blaugrana on their visit to Madrid.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday October 26 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabéu – Madrid, Spain
- Watch: ESPN Deportes | Current: Fubo (try for free)
- Chances: Real +105; Sign +300; Barca +220
Season so far
Real have been nowhere near their best of late, but they remain unbeaten with seven wins and three draws in their ten La Liga appearances, which puts them second. Barcelona have won nine of their 10 games despite significant injury problems, giving them a three-point lead in this match. The visitors are top scorers in La Liga with 33 goals and an average of better than three goals per match, which Los Merengues will look to address. Real will face Valencia, Osasuna and Milan before the November international break, while Barca will face Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Crvena Zvezda before the next break.
Team news
Real: Courtois and Rodrygo have both been ruled out after Bayern, so Andriy Lunin will step between the sticks and Bellingham could be behind a front two of Mbappe and Vini Jr. can sit. Bellingham hasn’t scored yet this year, but Vinicius and Mbappe both have eight goals. Brahim Diaz could return to the squad after injury to provide Ancelotti with another option, but David Alaba and Dani Carvajal are missing along with Courtois and Rodrygo.
Possible real XI: Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe.
Barca: Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi are all fit and could be on the bench for El Clásico. Marc Casado should continue to play alongside Pedri in midfield, while Fermin Lopez could fill a number 10 role. Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all missing, but Eric Garcia could return. Robert Lewandowski was prolific with fifteen goals in thirteen appearances in all competitions.
Possible Barça XI: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Prediction
This one feels like it will end decently even if Real and Barca score at least once, but neither side comes out on top. With so much at stake in terms of potential points difference, this is one that is a little more important for the hosts. Choose: Real 1, Barcelona 1.