Real Madrid vs Barcelona Preview:
Pssible starting lineups:
Real Madrid:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Nacho; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius
Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Garcia, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, F. de Jong; Dembele, Aubameyang, F. Torres
It's time for El Classico, Real Madrid welcome Barcelona to Stadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday evening. The rivalry between these two clubs is regarded as one of the biggest in Europe. Madrid and Barcelona are the largest cities and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions. Both clubs have a global fanbase: they are the world's two most followed sports teams on social media. As of April 2021, Real Madrid have 111 million fans on Facebook, while Barcelona 103 million. On Instagram, Real Madrid has 97 million followers, while Barcelona 96 million. On Twitter, both have 36 million followers.
Now about the match. Real Madrid are going into the contest in solid form. They are in series of four victories in La Liga. Los Blancos are first with 66 points, 10 more than second-placed Sevilla. Coach Carlo Ancelotti is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfy. According to many experts, it will be a miracle if Real don't become new champions. Real also secured quarter-finals of the Champions League after eliminating PSG with a 3:2 aggregate victory. Ancelotti has one big injury worry ahead of this match. Key striker Karim Benzema is rated as doubtful due to a calf injury. His potential absence is a huge handicap. Even he is almost irreplaceable, it is expected either Mariano Diaz or Isco to start in attack. In addition, Ferland Mendy picked up a muscular injury and he is definitely sidelined.
Barcelona are sharing the third position with Atletico Madrid as both teams have 51 points. The title look out of their hands as the difference is huge 15 points. Nevertheless, the Blaugrana are in good form at the moment. Just as their opponents, they are in series of four victories in La Liga. Also, they were successful in Europe League - on Thursday the Catalans have eliminated the Turkish side Galatasaray in the Europa League, winning 2:1 in Istanbul. The appointment of Xavi was a good move by the club officials, though the next period will be crucial, as Real Madrid and Sevilla will show the real quality of new Barcelona. Lifting the Europa League trophy and securing Top-4 finish in La Liga would be seen as a big success. Xavi remain without Alejandro Balde, Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti due to injuries. Some changes are expected from the side that started against Galatasaray, with Dani Alves and Ousmane Dembele potentially returning to the starting eleven.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction:
I expect lot of nervous and yellow cards in this derby. However, I think the guests could remain unbeaten at Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona look much better since Xavi took the team. They are unbeaten on the last 10 matches across all competitions and the players confidence is very high. In addition, Real could be without key striker Benzema through a calf injury. The Frenchman are still not ruled out definitely, but it is clear he won't be 100% ready. Considering these facts, I think Barcelona could maintain the unbeaten series.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Pick: Barcelona +0.5 AH @ 1.74 with Pinnacle