La Liga: All Set for El Clasico!

Barcelona vs Real Madrid

It’s here again folks! Europe’s biggest match is on at the Camp Nou on Wednesday where La Liga Barcelona vs Real Madrid is the entertainment on offer.

Two legends of the Spanish game, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos will lead their teams out in front of a packed 90,000 crowd on a special night in Catalonia. With 16 games of the 2019/20 campaign already done and dusted the two clubs are trading blow for blow at the top of the La Liga table. Four wins and a draw each in the last five games leaves them both on 35 points and four ahead of third-placed Sevilla.

Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona are the favourites to pick up a priceless three points on Wednesday, and a win in front of their home fans will allow them to steal a march in the race for La Liga glory. But Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane won’t need to get his players up for the biggest game of the football calendar in Spain.

Talking Points

More to come from Barca

It may seem odd to say it but, even though the Catalans sit on top of the table and have comfortably qualified for the Champions League Round of 16, they don’t quite seem to be firing on all cylinders.

I suppose they don’t have to when they have the mercurial genius of Messi to dig them out when they need it. The Argentine has already scored 12 goals this campaign, and he’s not the only forward who can strike fear into the defences facing up to Barca. Luis Suarez is in fine form and has bagged nine goals, while marquee summer signing Antoine Griezmann is gradually finding his feet and has contributed six goals.

A visit to the Basque Country to face Real Sociedad on Saturday resulted in a hard-fought 2-2 draw which ended Barcelona’s six-game winning streak in all competitions. Suarez and Griezmann were both on target, but I reckon the Barcelona vs Real Madrid highlights will be dominated by Messi; it’s just the kind of game he loves.

Benzema so crucial for Los Blancos

While Barca have three world-class strikers sharing the goals, ZZ doesn’t have that luxury in Madrid. Top scorer Karim Benzema has 12 goals, but nobody else has more than two, apart from skipper and centre back Ramos who has weighed in with three.

Zidane gave a chance to Brazilian pair Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior who starred in a 1-3 Champions League win over Lille last week, and Rodrygo kept his place in a 1-1 draw at Valencia on Sunday. Gareth Bale has missed the last three starts though he came off the bench at the Mestalla at the weekend. It looked like Carlos Soler Barragan’s late goal had won it for the hosts until Benzema popped up to smash home the equaliser from a 95th-minute corner.

La Liga: Karim Benzema is expected to lead Real Madrid upfront when they face Barcelona away from home — Karim Benzema celebrates with Sergio Ramos after scoring a late equaliser for Real Madrid against Valencia

Los Blancos have plenty of quality in midfield, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos pulling the strings, but without Bale contributing much upfront there is an awful lot resting on Benzema’s shoulders.

History

The Barcelona vs Real Madrid betting odds point to a home win on Wednesday night and there’s little wonder when you look at the relative firepower in each team, not to mention the head to heads.

Of the 69 El Clasicos played over the past quarter of a century, Barcelona have won 32 to Los Blancos’ 19, and there have been 18 draws. The recent clashes are even more compelling evidence that we should see a home win.

In the last six encounters, Barca have totally dominated, with four wins and two draws, including a thumping 5-1 win in this fixture last season when Luis Suarez scored a stunning hat-trick.

The hosts are unbeaten in nine games and have won their last three at the Camp Nou, and I’m backing them to make it four.

Betting Tip

	Barcelona vs Real Madrid	Barcelona First Half 1×2 @ 2.29
	December 19, 03:00 (GMT+8)

The Blaugrana are heavily odds on to win this clash at odds of 1.69 with SBOBET, while the draw is available at 3.80 and Los Blancos are out at 4.70. So I’m looking for the value in a fast start for the hosts who will want to put their rivals away sooner rather than later.

2-1 is a good long-shot bet at 7.20, and that may depend on Benzema continuing his form for Los Blancos, but I expect Real’s defence to be much the busier of the two.