Real Madrid vs Barcelona Odds, Predictions, Picks | El Clasico Match Preview
(Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images). Pictured: Robert Lewandowski.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona Odds
| Real Madrid Odds | -118 |
| Barcelona Odds | +300 |
| Draw | +280 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -175 / +137 |
In one of the biggest derbies in soccer, Real Madrid and Barcelona meet for the 257th El Clásico on Sunday afternoon.
Los Blancos hold a slight advantage in wins in the rivalry, and they have dominated the recent meetings.
Meanwhile, the Catalan club could move to within five points of Madrid with a win, setting up a fun ending to the La Liga campaign.
This is always a highly-anticipated fixture when the schedules are released, and I’m expecting it to live up to the hype with goals.
Here is my Real Madrid vs Barcelona prediction and El Clasico match preview.
Real Madrid
After conceding the league title to itstheirrival last season, Madrid have bounced back with a dominant campaign to regain the La Liga crown.
This could go down as one of manager Carlo Ancelotti’s best seasons, especially with the early injuries to the defense.
Ancelotti has been without Thibaut Courtois, Éder Militão and David Alaba for most of the campaign. He has been able to fill in the holes left by multiple squad players transitioning from midfield or other positions.
It helps when you have the front three of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. The trio has combined for 38 goals and 13 assists.
Barcelona
Following the club’s elimination from the Champions League, this is the only competition remaining for Barcelona to win a trophy. This would be the first season without a title since 2019-2020 and only the second campaign without silverware in the last 10.
Regardless of the loss to Paris Saint Germain, Xavi has his team firing on all cylinders in the league recently. Barcelona are undefeated in their last 10 in La Liga, which includes a 3-0 victory over Atlético Madrid.
One of the keys to the recent run has been the efforts defensively. Over the last 10 matches, Xavi’s team has only allowed averages of 0.76 expected goals and 0.7 big chances per game, according to fbref.com.
This defense will be put to the test against Madrid’s dangerous attack.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Prediction
Whenever these two have met in recent seasons, it typically leads to goals by both clubs, and I don’t see that stopping here.
So, my best bet is a Single Game Parlay, pairing the yes on both teams to score with the total flying over 2.5 goals at -120 odds at bet365. I would play this to -140.
Since the 2021-22 campaign, there have been 12 El Clásico games across all competitions. This same bet would have cashed in nine of those matches, including six of the last seven in La Liga.
The two meetings this season have combined for eight goals, and I just don’t see the defenses improving enough here to hold out the offenses.
Madrid will likely have Militão for this one, but he hasn’t played many games so far. Meanwhile, Barcelona were starting a 17-year-old center-back in the midweek loss to PSG.
Whether it is Madrid’s Big 3 or Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski for Barcelona, there are too many avenues for goals in this one.
I love the trend for a high-scoring match to continue in this big derby.
Pick: SGP – Both Teams to Score – Yes and Over 2.5 (-120)
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