Football world waits in excitement as it comes the time for the two biggest Spanish clubs to go head to head in one of the most anticipated matches on the globe. Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns at Camp Nou on Saturday in contrasting forms, but with one same objective – to grab three points and claim the bragging right over their fierce opposition.

Struggling Barcelona

Last couple of weeks have not gone according to Luis Enrique’s plans. The Catalans have been largely underperforming as they have gone to win only two of the last six games in all competitions, including the midweek’s 1-1 Copa del Rey stalemate with Hercules, albeit with the second-string side. Barcleona are struggling to connect their lines and display their usual fluent play in the middle of the pitch, without the veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta whose return from injury should be a major boost for the team and for Sergio Busquets himself and his below-par performances. Luis Enrique will be hopeful the MSN triumvirate will be up to their best on Saturday as Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are expected to be the greatest threat to Keylor Navas’ goal. The three of them have shared 21 goals in the La Liga so far, although the Argentine wizard has done the most part of the scoring with 9 goals to his name so far. Messi has been in superb form both for club and country and remains one of the brightest sparks for the Catalan club.

Jeremy Mathieu and his compatriot Samuel Umtiti have been ruled out through injury, whereas Arda Turan has picked up an illness during the week. Andres Iniesta returns to the fold, although the big game comes too early for Aleix Vidal and Jordi Masip who are thought to be sidelined with knocks.

 Roaring Real

Zinedine Zidane’s work at Real Madrid is yielding formidable result as Los Blancos continue their impressive unbeaten run stretching all the way to April 2016 and their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. The French manager has managed to establish a phenomenal team spirit and get the best out of the Euro 2016 and Ballon d’Or contender Cristiano Ronaldo, who is enjoying a fantastic spell of form at the moment. La Liga top scorer with 10 goals to his name has been displaying great leadership skill and has been driving the entire team forward with his brilliant performances. Los Blancos have won three of the last five visits to Camp Nou and Saturday’s clash comes at the right time for Real Madrid to try and grab another three points that would help them further extend their lead on top of the La Liga standings. Zidane’s men are six points ahead Barcelona as it is and Saturday’s triumph would see them make a giant leap towards winning the domestic title. The French manager will be forced to exert some formation changes to his line-up as his 4-3-3 style will be altered to 4-4-2 in order to accommodate for the absence of long-term injured Gareth Bale.

The Welsh wizard is not expected until April 2017 with an ankle injury, whereas Fabio Coentrao, Toni Kroos and Alvaro Morata are also ruled out for the game with respective injuries. Defender Pepe has been able to shake off his knock, but will not be risked and is expected to start from the bench.

Verdict

Real Madrid have one of the best chances to beat Barcelona in their own den and extend the gap in front of their fierce rivals to nine points. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team have displayed fantastic performances and we believe they will use the self-confidence for a strong showing that would be another major blow to indisposed Catalans.

Top Pick: Both teams to score – yes   1.42 (5/12) @Unibet

Alternative Pick 1: Real Madrid   4.20 (16/5) @Bet365

Alternative Pick 2: Cristiano Ronaldo to score anytime   2.20 (6/5) @Coral