The biggest game in Spanish football happens on Saturday night when Real Madrid and Barcelona face-off at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the first El-Clasico of the 2024-25 season.
Both teams head into the match in winning form against German opposition, with Real Madrid coming from 2-0 down to overcome Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the Champions League while Barcelona brushed aside Bayern Munich in a 4-1 win.
Vinicius and Raphinha each scored a hat-trick for their respective clubs and with the Ballon d’Or taking place on Monday night, the match will serve as another opportunity for either side to take bragging rights into the awards ceremony.
Team News
Both teams have no new major injuries heading into El-Clasico, so fans will get to see the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vini file out for Madrid while Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski will lead the charge for Barca.
Possible Line-ups
Real Madrid XI: A. Lunin – L. Vazquez, E. Militao, A. Rudiger, F. Mendy – L. Modric, A. Tchouameni, F. Valverde – J. Bellingham, Vinicius, K. Mbappe.
Barcelona XI: I. Pena – J. Kounde, P. Cubarsi, I. Martinez, A. Balde – Pedri, M. Casado, D. Olmo – Raphinha, R. Lewandowski, L. Yamal.
Prediction
Real Madrid have looked suspect at times, but less so compared to Barcelona – even with the big win over a Bayern side that looked out of sorts in the Champions League match at Camp Nou.
We expect the home side to take bragging rights in this instalment of the El-Clasico.