Barcelona v Real Madrid Betting Tips [19 March 2023]
Football - LaLiga
19 March 2023 16:00
The match
It’s one of the biggest football derbies in the world and needs no introduction – Barcelona vs Real Madrid El Clásico will be played out in La Liga this Sunday at Spotify Camp Nou as the two sides clash out for points and much more. Ahead of this round of matches, Barcelona are top of La Liga standings with 65 points while Madrid are second and right behind them with 56 points. After crashing out of the Europa League at the hands of Manchester United, Barcelona recovered well to post three wins in a row. Each of those wins came by a 1-0 scoreline and were against Real Madrid in Copa del Rey, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. They can now defeat their nearest rival and go into the international break with a 12-point lead at the top, which almost guarantees them the title. Yet, it won’t be as straight forward as that because they have lost five of their last six La Liga El Clásicos to Real Madrid. This will also be the first time Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is taking charge of a home match against Real Madrid, so there should be enough motivation to get one past their arch rivals. Thankfully for the home fans, the Catalans are in great form defensively. They have only conceded eight goals this league campaign and that gets better at home – just one goal conceded in 12 matches.
Real Madrid stayed in the title race with a 3-1 win over Espanyol in La Liga last weekend and have followed it up with a 1-0 win over Liverpool to guarantee Champions League progression. Having already won 3-1 against Barcelona in the league earlier in the season, Los Blancos will be confident of doing it again. Their recent form is a slight worry though, as they have only two wins from their last five competitive matches. The ups and downs of their league campaign has remained a problem for manager Carlo Ancelotti with the team dropping far too many points of late. Real Madrid have won just four of their last eight league matches, drawing three and losing one. This run of matches has robbed them of a chance to get closer in the title race. Nevertheless, it is their striking record that gives them a great chance as they have already scored 50 league goals this season. The visitors know that they have no other option but to keep winning to close out the gap to their arch rivals. Away form needs to be addressed though, as Real Madrid have lost three of their last seven away league matches, winning only three and drawing one.
Key Statistics
- Barcelona have produced under 2.5 goals in five of their last six league matches at home
- Nine of Barcelona’s last 11 La Liga matches have seen under 2.5 goals
- Four of Barcelona’s last five La Liga matches have seen exactly one match goal
- Barcelona have won 10 of their last 11 La Liga home matches
- Real Madrid have seen under 2.5 goals in their last four away league matches
- Real Madrid have lost three of their last seven La Liga away matches
The bet of our experts
There’s no easy way to call out this fixture as form book goes out of the window in any derby clash. Barcelona vs Real Madrid is probably one of the most followed football derbies and this El Clásico has extra context to it. With Barcelona’s off-field accusations over football refereeing scandal threatening to ruin their reputation and Real Madrid joining the legal implications by asking to be a party to it, emotions at Camp Nou will be running high both on and off the field. Barcelona’s early exit from Europa League may come as a blessing as they got a bit of extra rest than their visitors. Real Madrid have won 1-0 against Liverpool in the midweek clash but there remain concerns over the health of Karim Benzema. On the other hand, Barcelona have got an extra boost as defender Ronald Araujo is back in contention. The extra rest and the defensive reinforcements give Barcelona the slightest of edge in this. Our prediction for Barcelona vs Real Madrid is a home win with a secondary bet on a win plus under 2.5 goals.
