Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns once again in one of the biggest rivalries in football: El Clasico.
Given Messi’s clash with the Barca board this summer, this could well be the Argentine legend’s final Clasico home game at Camp Nou – and if it is, he will want to be going out with a bang.
As for Real, Zidane is under pressure heading into this battle given Real have lost two on the trot, and a hat-trick of defeats – especially to Barca – will leave the Liga champions with big questions to answer.
Neither side is in full flow, with Real, in particular, coming off the back of two shock home defeats. Barca demolished Ferencvaros 5-1 in the Champions League, but were shaky at the back early on – and Real will look to get at Koeman’s defence.
Los Blancos were masters of squeezing out results during the run-in last term, and Zidane’s side will surely tighten up at Camp Nou. Both managers would probably privately take a point at this stage as they get their teams up to speed.
TEAM NEWS
- Barca will again be without the services of number one goalkeeper Marc Andre Stegen due to a knee injury, meaning that Neto will continue between the sticks for Koeman’s side.
- Samuel Umtititi is again expected to be absent with ongoing knee issues, but Jordi Alba could be back in the XI on Saturday, having trained with his teammates on Thursday as he looks to overcome a hamstring problem.
- Whether Koeman feels that there is a risk starting the Spaniard remains to be seen, but the fact that he trained alongside his teammates two days before the game suggests that a return is a huge possibility; a spot on the bench looks to be the likely outcome, though, suggesting that Sergino Dest could again get the nod on the left.
- Sergio Busquets is expected to return in midfield, having been named on the bench against Ferencvaros, but Trincao could again keep out Griezmann on the left of the attack.
- Hazard, Daniand Odegaard are definitely unavailable through injury, while Diaz and Alvaro are unlikely to be fit for the contest.
- Club captain Ramos trained alone on Thursday as he builds to overcome the knee injury that forced him to miss out against Shakhtar, but the Spaniard is expected to be in the XI on Saturday afternoon.
Match facts
• Barcelona are undefeated in 32 of their last 33 home matches (LaLiga).
• Real Madrid are undefeated in their last 8 away matches (LaLiga).
•  Ronald Koeman’s men have scored 10 goals across three matches at Camp Nou in all competitions.
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Head To Head
Saturday’s clash will be the 182nd La Liga meeting between the two teams, and Madrid lead the head-to-head 73 wins to Barca’s 72, with the remaining 36 games finishing all square.
In all, it will be the 245th clash between the Spanish giants, and they have incredibly recorded 96 victories each. As mentioned, the pair played out a goalless draw in the corresponding game last season, but Madrid ran out 2-0 winners at the Bernabeu back in March.
Madrid have not beaten Barca at Camp Nou in the league since April 2016, while Barca’s last home La Liga victory over their bitter rivals came in October 2018.
PREDICTION: 1-1
