El Clásico Today | Barcelona vs Real Madrid Team News, Channel And Odds

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The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana finish the biggest week of their season with a trip to the Spanish capital for the latest edition of El Clásico against Real Madrid, and Hansi Flick has called up the following 22 players for Saturday’s game:

Goalkeepers: 13. Iñaki Peña, 25. Wojciech Szczesny, 31. Diego Kochen

Defenders: 2. Pau Cubarsí, 3. Alejandro Balde, 5. Iñigo Martínez, 23. Jules Kounde, 32. Héctor Fort, 35. Gerard Martín, 36. Sergi Domínguez

Midfielders: 6. Gavi, 8. Pedri, 14. Pablo Torre, 16. Fermín López, 17. Marc Casadó, 20. Dani Olmo, 21. Frenkie de Jong

Forwards: 9. Robert Lewandowski, 10. Ansu Fati, 11. Raphinha, 18. Pau Víctor, 19. Lamine Yamal

Their run propelled them to last season’s La Liga title, which they won by 10 points, and they also stayed unbeaten throughout the Champions League, which they lifted by beating Borussia Dortmund in the final.

In terms of personnel, often overlooked Uruguay defensive midfielder Federico Valverde has been an instrumental figure in Real’s run, playing in all but one of their matches.

There are no changes to the squad that was in uniform for the game against Bayern Munich, which means Eric García misses out for a third straight match with a muscle issue. Also out for this one due to injury are Marc-André ter Stegen (knee), Ronald Araujo (hamstring), Ferran Torres (hamstring), Andreas Christensen (Achilles) and Marc Bernal (knee).

Barca forward Lionel Messi was in sublime form during the 43-game streak, managing 58 goal involvements. For comparison, Vinicius and Bellingham have so far combined for 48.

Barcelona also recorded more wins (34 to Real’s 31) and took more points (111 to 104); although Real have played that one game fewer.

In defence, Real Madrid boast more clean sheets, with 23 compared to Barcelona’s 19, and fewer goals conceded (27 for Real and 33 for Barca).
Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):

Peña; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde; Fermín, Casadó, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

The match kicks off at 9pm CET (Barcelona), 8pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Sunday), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.

Not a good record
Last season, they lost both league matches (1-2 and 2-3) and were also beaten in the Spanish Super Cup final (1-4). These losses have left a bitter taste in their mouths, and the players are eager to turn the tide in this encounter.

Flick noted the special atmosphere surrounding this game—“we’re all excited to play it,” he remarked—and added that, despite the level of the rival and individual players like Vinícius and Mbappé, their style of play won’t change.

“I trust my players because they’re doing an amazing job. After the 1-1 against Bayern, we pushed forward, and that’s a good sign; it means we believe in ourselves, in possession, and in attacking, with or without the ball. We’ve shown it, and we’ll keep showing it,” he analyzed.

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