Real Madrid vs Barcelona
This is the first of two meetings at the Bernabeu between these two in four days as they face off in La Liga action this weekend. In the first leg of the Copa del Rey, they couldn’t be separated as the tie finished 1-1, but with the away goals rule in play, it’s slight advantage Real Madrid. Barca humiliated Real at the Camp Nou back in October, but that ended up being Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge and Santiago Solari has since come in and steadied the ship, winning 21 of his 28 games in charge in all competitions. However, they’ve been prone to slipping up at home, losing twice in the league this year against Real Sociedad and Girona, which should give Barcelona some encouragement.
Furthermore, there have been eight El Clasico encounters since the start of the 2016/17 campaign in all competitions and the only two matches Real have prevailed in were in the two legs of the Spanish Super Cup that preceded the 2017/18 season. In fact, at the Bernabeu, Los Blancos have lost four of their last six against their fierce rivals, conceding at least three strikes in each of these defeats. The man more often than not inflicting the damage has been Lionel Messi, bagging six goals across these encounters. The Argentine wasn’t fit enough to start the first leg but has an overall record of 26 goals from 37 starts in El Clasico encounters, with 15 of these away from the Camp Nou. He bagged a hat-trick as he inspired the Catalans to come back from 2-1 down to win at Sevilla on the weekend, meaning he has 18 goals in his last 14 appearances domestically, whilst he’s struck in 16 of his last 20 starts in all competitions.
Barca are slight favourites, but in what looks a close game to call, we’ll put our faith in the little magician.
Lionel Messi to score at anytime at 1.80 with RedArmyBet
