The El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona reaches a big landmark on Sunday as the two fierce rivals meet for the 250th time in an official match. The teams clash at Santiago Bernabeu sitting level on points at the top of the table, which adds further intrigue to the match-up this time around.
We should see plenty of bookings in this fiery game. Gerard Pique has received 12 yellow cards in the El Clasico and bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 2.50 for him to pick up another card. Fellow veteran Dani Carvajal boasts nine bookings from the big match and the odds are at 2.40 for him to register another one on Sunday.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 14th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
Real have led the table for most of the season, but they dropped their first points of the campaign at the start of the month and Barcelona were right behind them to take advantage of the situation. Both have an identical record ahead of Sunday’s action with seven wins and one draw, but Barca hold the edge with a better goal difference.
Xavi’s men are on their way to crashing out of the Champions League, but they have performed superbly in the league and the team should be filled with confidence after ending a six-game run without a win against Real with a huge 4-0 triumph at Bernabeu in March.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang led the charge with a brace seven months ago and it’s now Robert Lewandowski’s chance to show that he can do the same. Barca’s star striker saw his six-game scoring run end in the league last weekend against Celta Vigo, but he came up with a couple of big goals Wednesday night against Inter Milan and should be back on track again.
Lewandowski has netted 14 times in 12 outings so far this season and he’ll hope to outshine Karim Benzema, who will likely pick up the 2022 Ballon d’Or after the El Clasico on Monday night.
Benzema has had some health issues this season, but he will be fit for the big match. The French veteran didn’t play in the 4-0 defeat last season because of injury, meaning he personally hasn’t lost a league clash with Barca for three seasons and he’ll no doubt want to keep it that way.
Having Benzema fit and ready for Sunday is huge for Real, especially with Thibaut Courtois sidelined. Real’s No. 1 is dealing with a sciatic problem and the club recently ruled him out indefinitely. Andriy Lunin has been between the pipes for the last four games and Real will be hoping that the Ukrainian can hold his nerves in his first El Clasico.
