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Barcelona vs Real Madrid (El Clasico): The most awaited match in Modern day football is upon us as Barcelona is all set to take on arch rivals Real Madrid at the Nou camp on December 3 and this mouth-watering fixture is already slated to become the most watched game of the year. Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid will travel to the Catalan’s home stadium on the back of a partially convincing victory against Sporting Gijon while Luis Enrique’s side will come into the fixture with an incredibly unsatisfactory display of football in a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad, a match which could have well gotten out of their hands.The Spanish Champions had a bright start to the league but a poor run of form saw them getovertaken by the European Champions Real Madrid have a comfortable six-point cushion at the top of the La Liga table with each team playing thirteen games apiece.
Catalan coach Luis Enrique laid special stress on the high-voltage match next weekend stating that the fixture against Real Madrid a crucial must-win game for them if they plan to stay in contention for the La Liga crown before the teams go into the winter break.Zinedine Zidane’s side remain unbeaten in the league, drawing three and winning ten of their 13 matches and the Frenchman, in no way, would want these stats to change in their draw against Barcelona next Saturday.
Another highlight of the match, and perhaps the most important with respect to thousands of football fans around the world, is the fact that Argentine Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo will once again feature against each other at the Nou camp. The duo, who have nine Ballon d’Or titles between them, are widely regarded the best players in the history of the game and both of them are coming into the game hitting a good run of form for both club and country. Messi had a perfect start to the season which was capped off by brilliant performances for his national team in the world cup qualifiers while Ronaldo started the season slow, but picked up his pace by scoring five goals in his last two league games over asking the Argentine and his Uruguayan team-mate Luis Suarez to be the top goal scorer of the league with ten goals.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid : Team News
Barcelona
Barcelona haveno new injury setbacks and will have Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all fit for selection on Saturday. Club captain Andres Iniesta who was ruled out for six to eight weeks in late October after suffering knee ligament damage against Valencia has been seen returning to training but whether the Catalan coach will risk the Spaniard Maestro to play a full ninety minutes is what is left to be seen.
Turkish international Arda Turan, who missed the last clash against Sociedad due to fever will also be available for selection while defenderSamuel Umtiti will be unavailable for Luis Enrique owing to a hamstring injury he picked up during the international break.
Real Madrid
Los Blancos have been incredibly unlucky when it comes to injury to their key players as a number of starters are out for a long period of time owing to major injury concerns. Welsh winger Gareth Bale suffered a traumatic dislocation of the perineal tendons against Sporting Lisbon last week which ruled him out for a period of at least four months, while influential midfielder Toni Kroos will also miss the clash owing to a broken metatarsal he suffered against Leganes, a few matchdays back.
Also on the injury list is substitute Alvaro Morata who had proved quite effective for Zidane coming off the bench. There have been concerns over defensive midfielder Casemiro, who was out for a considerable amount of time, before returning to training last day. Whether the Brazilian midfielder will be fielded by Zidane is what we have to wait to witness next weekend. The midfielder featured in Real’s 6-1 Copa Del ray midweek win playing an entire ninety minutes and will again feature in the Clasico as per the latest statement by the Los Blancos manager.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid : Match Details
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Date: December 3
Time:(16:15 CET), 20:45 (IST)
Referee: Carlos Clos Gomz
Barcelona vs Real Madrid : Predicted Starting Lineup
Barcelona
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation):Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Gomes; Messi, Surez, Neymar
Real Madrid
Real Madrid starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Navas; Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos, Carvajal; Modric, Kovacic, Isco; Lucas, Ronaldo, Benzema
Barcelona vs Real Madrid : TV Guide
In the U.S., the match will be live on beIN SPORTS en Espanyol, fuboTV, beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A., and beIN SPORTS USA. But in U.K., the game will not be shown live due to the early timing of the match. It is illegal to broadcast live football matches on UK television between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays due to the potential impact on match attendances.
In India, the clash between Madrid and Barcelona will betelecasted on Sony Six SD, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid : Match Predictions
Also read: Real Madrid Have an edge over Barcelona Going into the Clasico on December 3.
In a match involving perhaps the best two teams in the world right now, there is no telling what would actually happen at the end of the ninety minutes at the Nou Camp. On paper, Madrid due look the stronger side based on their current run of form but there is no ignoring a side which has the lethal MSN trio in the front line. Our prediction stands at a crackling 3-2 away win for Los Blancos with Ronaldo, Benzema, Messi and Suarez finding their names on the scoresheet.
Will Barcelona regain their footing and move closer to Real Madrid in the La Liga table or will Los Blancos extend their 32 game unbeaten run ? Or will the two Spanish giants split points? It’s just two days to the biggest game in World football and the tension will keep on rising.
