The first two El Clasicos of 2023 were won by Barcelona, one in the Super Cup and one in Copa del Rey. Is it time for Real Madrid to win? If they do it, Los Blancos will reduce the gap between them and La Liga leaders Barca to just six points. But if they lose, it could mean the end of their title ambitions.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Barcelona | +114 |
| Draw | +250 |
| Real Madrid | +229 |
| Goals Over/Under | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 2.5 Goals | -114 |
| Under 2.5 Goals | +102 |
*Odds taken from bet365 on Thursday, March 16, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain
- Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023
- Time: 4:00 PM ET
- How to Watch: ESPN+
Barcelona Looking for 1st El Clasico Win at Home Since 2018
Barcelona won four of the last five El Clasicos, but none of those wins happened at Camp Nou. The second-biggest soccer stadium in the world (North Korea’s Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is the largest in terms of capacity) is where Barca haven’t defeated their archrivals since October 28, 2018.
Four and a half years later, they are determined to do so. What’s feeding them with confidence is the fact that they’re 4-0-0 in home games in the Spanish La Liga since the start of 2023. The most impressive thing is that they kept a clean sheet in each of those games.
What’s got to worry them is that they haven’t been scoring much lately. In fact, they scored a goal per game in their last five matches in all competitions. The reason? Barca’s arguably best player Robert Lewandowski was out for a couple of games due to an injury. But, the Polish striker is back now, ready to help his team on Sunday.
Real Madrid Going All-In on Sunday
Los Blancos are the reigning La Liga champions, but keeping the title for another year is going to be very difficult. This goes especially if they fail to beat Barcelona in El Clasico this Sunday. The thing is that they’re trailing by 9 points behind Barca, and with only 13 more rounds left before the end of the season, they need to switch to the top gear.
Winning on Sunday would mean getting back into the title conversation. In that case, the point gap between the two would be just 6 points. Knowing that Barca’s schedule in the remainder of the season is tougher than the one of Real Madrid, the boys from the Spanish capital would have a great chance to leapfrog them.
Obviously, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have the motivation to win on Sunday, but do they have the manpower to pull it off?
Barcelona vs Real Madrid Prediction
If you compare these two teams player-for-player, you’ll see that Real Madrid is superior to Barcelona. So, why did Barca win the last two El Clasicos? Because Los Blancos didn’t care too much about those two cup competitions.
They do care very much about La Liga, which is why they’re gonna go all-in on Sunday. And when they play their best soccer, they usually win. After all, that’s why they’re the reigning champs of both La Liga and the Champions League.
Picks: Real Madrid to win & over 2.5 goals