Back Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in an ‘El Clasico’ Thriller

Recommended Bets

• Barcelona to win (-1 handicap) at 6/4 with Betway

• Luis Suarez to score first at 7/2 with Skybet

The biggest club game in European football takes place on Saturday evening with Real Madrid visiting Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona sit ten points clear of Real at the top of La Liga, with Los Blancos third behind rivals Atletico. Barca of course beat Real 4-0 in their last meeting and are riding high with a record breaking 39 game unbeaten streak, winning 32 of those and drawing the rest, although they were held to a 2-2 draw at Villarreal in their last match.

Real Madrid have lost just once in the last seventeen matches and are currently on a run of five successive victories coming into this match, with an impressive 4-0 win over Sevilla in their last match.

Goals galore are expected, with the front three’s of each side, totalling a whopping 132 goals between them in the league, while 21 goals have been scored in the last five meetings between these giants of football. As each defence has proved brittle at times in this fixture, the Under / Over goals market is expected around the 3.5 goal mark, with Overs around 10/11 with BetVictor and worth some consideration.

The usual suspects lead the first goalscorer markets, with both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at 7/2 with Skybet. Interestingly Messi has not scored in the last four “El Clasico’s”, so Suarez looks to be the better choice.

Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored seven in the last five matches initially looks a value bet at 11/2 with Betfred, but it’s difficult to see Real and thus Ronaldo scoring first, so the 27/20 from Ladbrokes to score anytime looks the better option.

Lastly, discipline can be an issue in this fixture, with the last five meetings averaging 6.8 yellows per game, however with Real unlikely to catch their rivals in the league, we may witness a less fiery encounter, with an under 6.5 cards bet at 13/16 with 888Sport a possible option.

Form and home advantage make Barcelona’s 8/13 with Stan James difficult to back against, and despite Real’s improvement under Zidane, Barcelona to win with a -1 goal handicap at 6/4 with Betway is the bet.