Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Preview, predictions and lineups

The classic returns on Saturday night for the 2024/25 season as Real Madrid host Barça in La Liga.

Madrid he may be the defender of the League, but he is Barcelona which have made the start of the season more striking. They have lost just two games under new boss Hansi Flick, and only one of those has come in the league. That leaves them three points ahead of theirs classic rivals after ten games.

But recent history favors the Whites in this high-profile fixture with four competitive wins on the bounce, including two Jude Bellingham-inspired League wins last season. Madrid know they can go level on points with Barcelona if they taste victory this weekend, but there are also important bragging rights in the derby.

Both teams enjoyed superb wins against the German giants in the Champions League in midweek to prepare for Saturday’s game.

Madrid overcame a two-goal deficit at half-time thanks to a hat-trick from Vinicius Junior in a Victory by 5-2 at Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of last season’s Champions League final. Barça was even more convincing 4-1 demolition of Bayern Munich and it was Vinicius’ teammate in Brazil, Raphinha, who finished off the victory with a hat-trick of his own.

here it is 90 minutes guide of the first classic of the campaign

Head-to-head record between Real Madrid and Barcelona (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

The win over Dortmund in midweek took its toll on the Madrid squad. Both goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and winger Rodrygo suffered injuries in the crash and will be out for the next few weeks.

As a result, Ancelotti may turn to the 4-3-1-2 system that was so impactful last season, with Andriy Lunin replacing Courtois in goal and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior leading the line.

David Alaba and Dani Carvajal remain long-term absentees in the backline, but Brahim Diaz is closing in on a return after missing more than a month of action. The Moroccan international could be on the bench at the weekend.

Expected line-up of Real Madrid against Barcelona (4-3-1-2): Monday; Vázquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappé.

Flick still faces a number of fitness issues ahead of the trip to Madrid, with Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen missing from the backline. Later, the young Marc Bernal and the experienced Ferran Torres are also sidelined.

Barcelona have welcomed back a number of key midfielders in recent weeks with Dani Olmo returning to the fold from the bench against Bayern. Gavi has also received a handful of minutes in the last two games since November 2023 and Frenkie de Jong has featured off the bench in three of the last four games.

Raphinha has been in superb form this season and scored a second hat-trick of the campaign in midweek. He will line up alongside Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and potentially Fermin Lopez as part of a front four.

Predicted line-up of Barcelona against Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Penalty; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martínez, Balde; Married, Peter; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Expect fireworks at the Santiago Bernabéu in one of the most evenly matched classics of recent times. Both teams are blessed with immense firepower in the final third while looking susceptible at the back, which should lead to plenty of goals in the Spanish capital.

This one could really go either way and can be decided by an individual moment of magic. The draw would be the safe forecast but the points have not been distributed in a classic since December 2019 during a goalless draw at Camp Nou.

As Barça have been a bit more convincing than Madrid this season, we believe they can get a big away win in Flick’s first competitive taste of this game and bring Madrid’s recent one. classic mastery to the end.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona

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