• Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in El Clasico on Saturday night
  • Both sides enjoyed enthralling midweek wins in the Champions League
  • Barca currently lead La Liga title race by three points

By Talal osman

The biggest game in Spanish and arguably world club football takes place on Saturday night as bitter La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in El Clasico.

The pair of Spanish giants have dominated the nation's league standings throughout history and approach this fixture in buoyant moods after each securing their own monumental results in midweek Champions League action.

But who should fans expect to claim the points when the two European behemoths take to the Bernabeu turf this weekend?

It was undoubtedly tough to judge Barca's prospects this season after a dizzying end to the last campaign which included former manager Xavi Hernandez losing his job.

However, his replacement Hansi Flick has overseen a wonderful start to the 2024/25 season, with the Blaugrana sitting pretty at the top of La Liga after winning nine of their first ten matches. The only blip so far has been a surprising 4-2 defeat at Osasuna, but memories of that defeat are fading quickly, especially after the thrashing they handed out to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

In a fixture which has been more than just a tough watch for Barca fans in recent memory, Raphinha put the Catalan giants ahead inside the first minute and ended up with the match ball after bagging a hat-trick. Robert Lewandowski, who now has 15 goals this season, also netted before half-time against his former side.

It turned out to be a pretty easy night's work for Barca, though the same can't be said for Madrid's midweek result despite an eventually handsome scoreline.

The reigning Spanish and European champions were 2-0 down to Borussia Dortmund, the team they beat in last season's Champions League final, at half-time on Tuesday night. However, Antonio Rudiger's header kickstarted the comeback as Vinicius Junior bagged a treble of his own to rival compatriot Raphinha, with Lucas Vazquez also getting on the scoresheet.

Their revamped attack is yet to truly click despite goals coming regularly for new signing Kylian Mbappe, while Jude Bellingham hasn't struck at all so far this season, a marked difference from his electric start to his Los Blancos career last year.

Even if Barca's recent form and performances have been more impressive than Madrid's, the recent head-to-head record points favourably in the direction of Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Los Blancos have won the last four meetings with their fierce rivals, the most recent of which was a dramatic 3-2 success at the Bernabeu back in April this year. It was Bellingham who got the 91st-minute winner after his side had twice fallen behind.

That win helped Madrid go 11 points clear of Barca on their way to the La Liga title and was part of a breathtaking unbeaten run which can soar to record-breaking heights if they triumph on Saturday night.

Since being beaten 3-1 by Atletico Madrid in September last year, Madrid have picked up 31 wins, 11 draws and no defeats. The current record for most consecutive matches without a loss in La Liga stands at 43 and is held by Barca, who achieved the feat between 2017 and 2018.