Real vs. Barca
Venue: Bernabeu
Kick off: 6:15pm
The first El Clasico match of the 2015-16 La Liga season takes place as Real Madrid host reigning champions, Barcelona, at the Bernabeu on Saturday (today).
Spain’s Secretary of State for Sport has insisted that the match will go ahead despite the attacks in Paris last weekend, but extra security will be in place for the highest profile fixture in the La Liga calendar.
Rafael Benitez’s side slipped to their first defeat of the season before the international break, losing 2-3 to Sevilla, despite a late goal from James Rodriguez giving the side hope of a comeback.
As a result, Real have slipped from top spot in the La Liga table for the first time in a month, sitting three points behind this weekend’s opponents.
The defeat to Sevilla was the team’s first since a 0-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the pre-season Audi Cup in August, and ended a run of three straight wins in the Spanish top flight.
Despite letting in three goals last time out, Real still have one of the best defences in the league, conceding just seven times in 11 fixtures so far this season, while keeping six clean sheets.
Only Atletico Madrid have a stronger record at the back so far this season.
The team still have more goals than any of their La Liga rivals too, with 26 goals so far, including eight from top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, three in his last four matches.
With the start of the January transfer window just over six weeks away, a number of players have been linked with Real over the international break, while Gareth Bale continues to be linked with a move away from the club.
Barcelona head into this match as league leaders for the first time since September, having climbed back to the top of the standings as a result of their 3-0 win over Villarreal last time out.
Luis Enrique’s side have won their last four matches in the La Liga, making amends for defeats to Sevilla and Celta Vigo early in the campaign, leaving them three points clear at the top of the table, although defeat to Real today will cost them top spot.
Barcelona were struggling to keep clean sheets in the early part of the season, but have kept their opponents out in their last two matches, doubling their clean sheets so far this season.
Despite missing Lionel Messi through injury for much of this season, the Catalan side have also started to score more frequently over the last month, leaving them with 25 goals so far this season, just one fewer than today’s opponents.
Luis Suarez and Neymar have stepped up during the Argentine’s absence, scoring all 17 of the club’s goals in the league in their last seven fixtures.
The match is the first of two big fixtures for Barcelona in the space of three days, as a home match against Roma in the Champions League follows on Tuesday, with the defending European champions yet to secure their place in the knockout stage of the competition.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Navas, Pepe, Ramos, Varane, Danilo, Kross, Modric, Casemiro, Isco, Ronaldo, Bale.
Barcelona possible starting lineup: Bravo, Pique, Alves, Alba, Mathieu, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic, Suarez, Neymar, Messi.