Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Nov 17, 2015 @ 01:42 am

Next Saturday, 21st of November 2015, the current Spanish and European champions FC Barcelona will travel to the country’s capital city to measure forces with Real Madrid at the emblematic Santiago Bernabéu for Round 12 of the Liga BBVA.

Playing against Sevilla FC at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is never easy for any team and, with Real Madrid, things were no different. Before the international break, Los Merengues travelled to Seville as league leaders and left the capital of the Andalusian autonomous region with their first defeat of the season in their bags, also changing places with FC Barcelona at the top of the table.

The Spanish international Sergio Ramos put Real Madrid on the lead in the first-half, but a strong and organized reaction by Sevilla FC not only put them back in the game but also allowed them to obtain a comfortable 3-1 lead with an additional 15 minutes to play before the final whistle. The ten-time European champions never managed to properly deal with their opponents’ display of power and organized formation and, in the end, the best they got was James Rodriguez’s goal during injury time, that was clearly insufficient to avoid their first league defeat.

The atmosphere at Real Madrid’s locker room is probably not the best one right now, especially after Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent implicit criticism to the team’s boss, Rafa Benitez. The Portuguese star’s lacklustre performance at Andalusia has also raised some doubts regarding his current relationship with both Rafa Benitez and with the club’s President himself.

Sergio Ramos, Keylor Navas, Isco and Marcelo are still recovering from their respective injuries and are currently in doubt for El Clásico.

As for Barcelona, the current Spanish and European champions’ performances are still miles away from those they produced last season, but regardless of having already lost two times so far this season, they are the current La Liga’s leaders after Real Madrid’s major stumble last round.

After a comfortable win over FC BATE Borisov for the UEFA Champions League in the middle of the week, Barça sealed a solid win over Villarreal CF in their last outing, with both Neymar and Luis Suarez leading the team during Lionel Messi’s absence.

The Argentinean superstar trained with Barcelona’s farm team this week and it is said that he will be part of Luis Enrique’s plans for next weekend’s El Clásico.

Real Madrid

Stats: W-3 L-1 D-1

Recent Form - LWWWD

Barcelona

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - WWWDW

Possible Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-3-3) – Navas - Danilo - Pepe - Sergio Ramos - Nacho - Casemiro - Modric - Kroos - James Rodriguez - Ronaldo - Bale

Barcelona (4-3-3) - Bravo - Alves - Mascherano - Pique - Jordi Alba - Busquets - Rakitic - Iniesta - Neymar - Suárez - Ramirez

Injury List / Suspended Players

Real Madrid - Ramos (in doubt) - Carvajal (in doubt) - Benzema (in doubt) - Marcelo (in doubt) - Navas (in doubt)

Barcelona - Messi (in doubt) - Rafinha (inj) - Rakitic (in doubt)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions