New Delhi: It’s El Clasico, the biggest fixture on the football calendar. Real Madrid hosts Barcelona in La Liga 2023/24 at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Barcelona has been on an amazing roll this season, featuring at the top of the La Liga table, with Real Madrid sitting right behind their rivals with a difference of three points.
Real Madrid haven’t been in the best of form in the starting stages of the 2024-25 season, but they are unbeaten in La Liga, winning a total of seven times and playing three draws from their ten games. Carlo Ancelotti’s men wouldn’t want to lose the game as they near the feat of equalling the streak of most games unbeaten in La Liga.
Ancelotti has injury woes along with players who are yet to integrate into the Los Blanco side. Kylian Mbappe hasn’t been at his best in Madrid, while Jude Bellingham’s number of goal involvements has gone down from last season. Despite their form, they will be confident, given that their last three games against the visitors have seen them as winners.
Barcelona have won nine of their last ten games, collecting a total of 27 points and are the leading goalscorers with 33 goals, despite injury concerns in their camp. Hansi Flick’s appointment, though was questioned in the beginning, it is turning out in favour of Barca. The Barca side is coming to the competition with four back-to-back wins, including a 5-1 win over Sevilla last weekend.
Their Champions League 4-1 win over Bayern Munich where Raphinha scored a hat-trick, shows the confidence the team is in, with many players returning to fitness. So far, they have only lost one game this season, when Osasuna beat the top team 4-2. Flick’s side though they haven’t won a game in the Bernabeu since March 2022 and that is a jinx they would be booking to break this season.
Team news
Real Madrid have two big injuries ahead of the game with both Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo being ruled out for two to three weeks. They join David Alaba and Dani Carvajal on bench. This means Andriy Lunin will be taking over the glove duty while Bellingham is likely to feature behind Vincius Junior and Mbappe.
While Bellingham may not have been scoring yet, Vinicius has scored eight goals across competitions this season, while Mbappe has scored eight times from his 13 appearances for Madrid. For Los Blanco, Brahim Diaz has returned to the squad and will be an important part in the second half of the match.
For Barcelona, Frenkie de Jon, Dani Olmo and Gvai are back to full fitness, though the trio may feature on a bench in the El Clasico. Marc Cadao is likely to continue in the midfield alongside Pedri. Fermin Lopez had provided two assists against Bayern and will most likely operate as a number 10. Robert Lewandowski has managed to score a total of 15 goals in 13 appearances, with 12 goals from his 10 La Liga appearances and will continue to feature in the final third of the field.
In Barca injury list, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ferran Torres will continue to be on the sidelines. However Eric Garcia is making a strong case for himself and could return to the squad.
Head to Head
The two teams have a long history, having first played against each other in 1929. Across competitions, they have met 257 times, with Real Madrid winning 105 games and Barcelona winning 100 games, while the two teams have played 52 draws.
In La Liga, Real Madrid are leading the win record marginally with their 79 wins, while Barcelona have won 74 games and played in 35 draws. The two teams have been dominating the top-tier of Spanish football. Madrid has lifted the trophy 36 times, the most in La Liga, while Barcelona has lifted it 27 times.
Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid: Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe
Barcelona: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Where to watch El Clasico?
Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona of La Liga 2024 will be live-streamed on the GXRwebsite. The live-action for Real Madrid vs Barcelona will start at 12:30 AM IST tonight.
