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Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona
This coming Sunday it’s that time again, the Clasico is coming up! One of the most prestigious matches in world soccer revolves around the duel between eternal rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Even though the game has lost its spice ever so slightly after the Ronaldo vs. Messi era, fans of both camps are still eager to beat their great rivals. Kick-off is at 21:00 on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, the game thus closes the 29th matchday of LaLiga. Our prediction for the Clasico can be found in the following Real Madrid vs Barcelona tip.
Real Madrid is this season on the best way to the championship title. After 28 games, the royals have collected 66 points and are thus distant at the top of the table. The gap to second-placed Sevilla FC is now a full ten points. Barcelona follows – with one game less – only 15 points behind, the Catalans are unlikely to be a threat to Real this season. At least the third-placed Blaugrauna now has a Champions League spot again, which was not the case for most of the first half of the season.
Real Madrid – Barcelona info
– Date & Time: 20/03/2022, at 21:00.
– Venue: Madrid, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
– Competition: LaLiga, 29th matchday
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Real Madrid form & balance check
The royals seem to be on the way to old strength this season. In the league, the championship title beckons after city rivals Atletico had put a spoke in the King’s wheel last year. In the Champions League, Real recently won a pompous duel with top-flight Paris Saint-Germain, which many had already identified as the top favorites for the title. The Galactics are finally someone on the international stage again after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and they have one man to thank for that.
Benzema in his second spring
Because even if the team performance of Alaba, Modric, Vinicius and Co. naturally plays a major role in Real’s success, one individual keeps stealing the show from everyone. We’re talking, of course, about Karim Benzema, who has become the focal point of Real’s attack without Ronaldo and is scoring at will this season. The Frenchman has 32 goals and 13 assists from 34 competitive games this season.
His most important three goals came a week ago in a 3-1 second leg win over PSG, his lightning hat-trick single-handedly sending the Royals into the quarter-finals. When Real won 3-0 in Mallorca last weekend, their fifth in a row, Benzema scored twice again but then limped off the pitch. However, according to an initial all-clear, the striker is likely to be involved in the Clasico.
Real Madrid facts & analysis
– Leader in LaLiga, 66 points.
– Last won 3:0 in Mallorca
– Won 5 competitive games in a row
Barcelona form & balance check
Fc Barcelona has made an impressive turnaround under new coach Xavi. The club legend has managed to instill the Barca gene in the team within a short period of time with attacking possession soccer. After some teething problems, the Catalans really turned up the heat recently and rediscovered their enjoyment of soccer. This allowed Barcelona to start a streak of eleven unbeaten competitive games in a row, in which the team scored a full four goals five times alone. Barca got its identity back from Xavi, which is now reflected in the results.
Barca on the rise
The influence of the still-young coach is also becoming increasingly clear on the pitch. For example, he was able to lead personalities such as Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who were thought lost by others, to old strength, the former BVB team convinced in recent weeks as a brilliant duo. Old-guard veterans and former teammates of Xavi like Dani Alves, Piqué or ter Stegen also act as leaders for Barca’s next generation of talents like Pedri or Gavi. All of this has led to the Catalans’ strong form in recent weeks to climb the league and reach the quarterfinals in the Europa League against Galatasaray.
Barcelona facts & analysis
– 3rd place in LaLiga, 51 points.
– Last won 2:1 at Galatasaray
– No defeat in 11 competitive matches
Predicted lineup – last update on March 18, 2022
We expect Madrid to play with almost the identical starting eleven as in the second leg against PSG, only Casemiro is likely to come in for Valverde. Benzema is still questionable, but should be able to start. Ferland Mendy will have to miss the game again after suffering an injury in the match against Mallorca.
On the Barcelona side, Dembele is fighting for a starting spot alongside Aubameyang, but could once again remain on the bench for now. Dani Alves, Nico and Gavi are other starting eleven alternatives for Xavi.
Real Madrid – Barcelona direct comparison & statistics
The Clasico between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona enters its 208th edition on Sunday. So far, Real has a slight lead with 86 wins, while Barcelona has won 79 times. 42 other games ended in a draw. The royals have also dominated the last duels, winning the most recent five meetings with Barca. The first leg ended 2-1 for Real.
– The most frequent result between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is 1-1. 9 matches ended this way.
– Last season Real Madrid won both matches against FC Barcelona (2-1 at home and 3-1 away).
– The first leg ended 2-1 for Real Madrid.
– The average number of goals scored in a Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona clash is 3.4.
– The average number of goals scored in the first half in matches between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is 1.4.
