The LaLiga title race has taken another twist, and it will make this weekend’s El Clasico unmissable. Real Madrid will welcome Barcelona to the Bernabéu, knowing that only a win could take them back to the top of the division. Meanwhile, Atletico will be looking to improve their European chances when they travel to Espanyol.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona
The biggest match in world football takes place this weekend as Barcelona travel to Real Madrid looking to continue their recent good form. Both sides would have been in European action by the time that the fixture takes place, but this will be the biggest game of their week.
Real Madrid will go into the fixture off the back of a shock defeat against Levante in LaLiga. Zinedine Zidane’s squad were humbled by the minnows. Real would have felt that they had the chances to kill the game off, but they didn’t take any of their 19 efforts on goal. Jose Luis Morales Nogales made them pay for their wastefulness when he scored the winner with ten minutes remaining. Real have now failed to win in their last two outings.
Barcelona comes into the fixture in their best form of the season, as they have won their last four in La Liga. Quique Seiten will be hoping that he can improve that record with a win in his first Clasico. Lionel Messi was the star in their most recent LaLiga fixture as he scored four times in the 5-0 win over Eibar.
The neutrals will be hoping for a much better game than the one earlier in the season, as the previous meeting ended 0-0. There is too much quality in both sides to predict that second goalless draw of the season between the two could be on the agenda. There are big stakes for this fixture, but Messi’s recent form could be the important factor that could see Barcelona take a massive step towards the league title. The preference would be for an away win.
Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid
Two sides that must be disappointed with their performances to date will be Atletico Madrid and Espanyol. Atletico had a big summer of transfer activity, and that has been detrimental to their chances this campaign. They have struggled to fill the void left by Antoine Griezmann, as they have only scored 28 goals in their 25 games this season. Their tally is the lowest in the top half of LaLiga.
Defensively they have been strong once again, as they have the second-best defensive record in the division. They were boosted in their most recent outing in La Liga with the returns of Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata, but Diego Costa remains out. Felix scored on his return to first-team action, as he found the net for the third goal in their 3-1 win over Villarreal. Atletico had to come from behind in that fixture as Paco Alcacer put the visitors ahead. However, goals from Angel Correa and Koke put them ahead before Felix’s goal. Atletico have now won two of their last three fixtures in LaLiga.
Espanyol are staring down the barrel of an embarrassing relegation this term, as they are currently five points away from safety. They have won just four league games this season, with one of those coming in their last five games. No team has conceded more than their total of 44. They were beaten in their last league game against Valladolid 2-1, and bettors can expect more of the same when they welcome Atletico to the RCDE Stadium.
