There will be plenty of motivation for FC Barcelona when they take to the field on Sunday night to clash with their arch-rivals. The two teams met at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday 16 October when Real Madrid ran out 3-1 winners, with Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde having scored first-half goals before a Rodrygo penalty capped things after Ferran Torres had scored for the Catalan side.
Since then, Barcelona have largely been on a winning run and the only other team to have inflicted a defeat on the runaway leaders is Almeria who recently inflicted a 1-0 triumph against them. Indeed, one betting trend which could be worth noting is that all four of the last quartet of Barca games have featured just one goal.
Therefore, an alternative way of backing Xavi’s team could be to achieve a 1-0 success against opponents who will have to firstly try and deal with Liverpool in the Champions League before heading to the Nou Camp for one of the biggest games of the season. Real can actually be backed at a big price if you think they can topple their arch-rivals.
Carlo Ancelotti is rumoured to be taking charge of the Brazilian national team at the end of this season and he recently masterminded a 5-2 Champions League win at Anfield to illustrate the threat posed by Los Merengues. Ultimately, Real will need to claim a victory to stand any chance of retaining their title and perhaps we’ll see a more open game than the odds suggest.