Barcelona and Real Madrid Boast Powerful Stars ahead of El Clasico

We present the weak and the strong points of each team right before the upcoming El Clasico, that is looking to be a great spectacle.

FC Barcelona will host Real Madrid on 22 March in a game which is expected to bring an attractive and offensive performance by both sides as they usually do. They scored the most goals in the league due to their dominant playing style. The tiki-taka will once again face the Royal Team’s more direct attacking game.

They are outstanding teams in the league full of extraordinary players, but our purpose was to analyse them according to their duty on the field. This means we examined their defence, midfielders and attackers, and compared them to each other. We will first look at the defensive line and then we will continue on with the midfield, while finishing off with the forwards.

Real Madrid defence has bigger names but they concede more

Online gambling sites in Spain report that the most probable version of Barcelona’s starting line-up is Ter Stegen in the goal, while Dani Alves, Pique, Mascherano and Jordi Alba will defend in front of him. It is possible that the manager will count with the Argentine on the midfield, in that case Jeremy Mathieu will take his place.

Galacticos’ goalkeeper will be team-captain Iker Casillas who is lately very unpopular in the Spanish capital, receiving a great deal of criticism. Marcelo will play left back and Carvajal will be on the right side, while Pepe’s mate will expectedly be Sergio Ramos, who just returned after his injury. Raphael Varane might get a chance if the vice-captain will not be 100% fit.

It is true that names in the Real Madrid defence look better with world class players like Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe or Marcelo, yet unlike their opponent, Los Blancos do not function as a proper team lately. The Royal Club conceded 4 goals against Schalke at home in their latest Champions League match, and overall the capital side concedes more goals than their rivals.

The battle will be decided in the centre of the pitch

Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic are expected to be starting on the Catalan side’s midfield, while the third midfielder is yet unknown. If Luis Enrique will put Mascherano in the defence, then Sergio Busquets will play in the middle of the field but Mascherano is an available option for the defensive midfielder’s duties as well. Veteran Catalan maestro Xavi will be on the bench, according to predictions by Spanish gambling news.

On the other hand, the rising Spaniard star, Isco, will play next to newly acquired Toni Kroos and freshly recovered Luka Modric. The German and the Croatian were key factors in Real Madrid’s 22 consecutive wins but the team suffered after the former Spurs player’s injury. Now with his return, and Isco’s great performance, they are ready to gain back the winning streak. Khedira, Illarramendi and Lucas Silva will be substitutes for Real’s midfield.

Both teams like to dominate the game in the centre of the pitch and they both have the perfect midfielders to play like that. None of the midfielders from Real Madrid managed to score more than Isco, who has bagged in 3 goals, while Barcelona’s Rakitic has scored 4 goals in La Liga. The duel in the midfield seems like the perfect reflection of the game: completely unpredictable.

Barcelona’s attacking trio is in superb form

Blaugrana will attack with the powerful MSN frontline, consisting of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. These 3 have scored 56 goals so far in the Liga BBVA and the Argentine is the top scorer of Spain and Europe with 32. A good performance in the Champions League would see him as a main favourite for Europe’s Best Football Player, according to Ballon d’Or predictions.

On the other hand, Real Madrid will start with the well-known attacking trio, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. The so-called BBC have scored 55 goals this season in the league but they are in declining form lately. In case they need to score, Jese Rodriguez and Chicharito will be the available options for Carlo Ancelotti.

Attackers will probably play the most important role in the team as the whole world expects them to shine and play attractive football on Sunday night. Mobile betting sites believe that Luis Enrique’s men will perform better on the field as Bet365 has set the odds for the Catalan side winning the game at 1.67 (4/6) while those for the Royal Team are 4.5 (7/2).