Ahead of today’s big El Clasico (in fact every El Clasico is always big, regardless of the situation), the main story is Barcelona. Not to say that Real are not a favorite or that they are ’boring’ in any way, but it’s all about the Catalonians. They are league leaders, they were in financial problems (and still are) and spent 145 million euros on new players, they are chasing their first title since 2019 and they are the winners of the last match between these two teams – a 1-0 friendly game in Las Vegas. But this is not America.El Clasico fun fact:ElClásico is the most played fixture in LaLiga history!Both sides have met 184 times in La Liga.76 – The number of Real Madrid wins73 – Barcelona wins.35 – Draws295 – The number of goals each team has scored in the competition.#ElClasico #StatAttack pic.twitter.com/54WXpToiVn— GOAL Africa (@GOALAfrica) October 16, 2022 Xavi and his boys are winning, but in La Liga and with inferior opposition. The Catalonians have conceded only one goal all season, but let’s look at their opponents: Real Valladolid, Cadiz, Elche, and Real Mallorca. Not attacking powerhouses at all. And whoever watches those games saw Barca keeper Andre Ter Stegen making a number of excellent saves, to keep his team from drawing 1-1. Maybe Barca’s European record is more of a reality check: seven goals in four Champions League matches, losing two, drawing one, and winning one.Barca having a point to prove with El Clasico uncertainty restoredAhead of El Clasico, the mood at Camp Nou is not so good. With this Champions League record, they are all but out of the competition, for which they budgeted their squad and expected at least a quarterfinals, meaning they will lose money again, even if they win the Europa League. So they are under even more pressure to win against Madrid and win the league because being out of the Champions League and now winning La Liga is the thing associated with Ronald Koeman, not Xavi and his 145 million euros squad.„I like these types of matches. If you want to be a footballer, it has to be in these types of games. They are special matches, maximum motivation. It’s the game in which dynamics are least important, we can’t predict anything. A game to enjoy, try to be protagonists. I was saying the other day that I would like to be a player for these types of matches, it is better to be a Barca player than a coach. We want to attack them, attack them in their space, but it is true that sometimes you have to be mature and not fall into haste” said Xavi in his last press conference.Troubled Barca – dowgrade to the Europa League means losing 20 million euros!And let’s not forget he won at Bernabeu 4-0 the last season, without Raphinha, Lewandowski, Kunde, and co. Carlo Ancelotti might be the best manager in the world, but he has a bad record in El Clasico. As coach of Madrid, he has four defeats in six league derbies. The two victories were 3-1 in 2014-15 and 1-2 in 2021-22. At the Bernabeu, two defeats out of three: 3-4 in 2013-14 and 0-4 in 2021-22.”I haven’t put up the video of the last derby. It won’t affect last year’s game, it’s another Clasico, we have the hope of playing against the whole world. The hope is to give a good image and it is not a match that is life or death. It is special, but the season is very long and we would like to win it. There are no inventors of football, it was invented a long time ago and it is clear that I am not going to invent it“ said the Italian.🏆 In 184 #ElClásico’s, there have been:🤍 295 Real Madrid goals 💜💙 295 FC Barcelona goals❤️🤔 Who will be the first to reach 296…?📺 Find out tomorrow on #LaLigaTV! pic.twitter.com/KOptZgdJ1V— LaLigaTV (@LaLigaTV) October 15, 2022 Last season, in the attacking department, Real had one big advantage – Karim Benzema. But this year, Barca has a gem of its own – Robert Lewandowski. The duel of the top strikers will be the most watchful one in this game. Lewa basically continued what he did at Bayern – score goals. The Pole scored 14 goals out of Barca’s 28 in all competitions. Benzema had his way with injuries this season, so he is not even the best scorer in Real, Vinicius is. But it doesn’t matter as long as he scores in El Clasico.Lewandowski has scored more goals than Real Madrid’s front THREE combined. pic.twitter.com/0sxgufl1yg— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) October 16, 2022 Unlike the Frenchman, another big player for Real won’t be available for today’s match – Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian international is still recovering from sciatica he felt since the last FIFA break and won’t feature, but Antonio Rudiger will play, despite his eye injury. Barca has a problem with defenders for this game, and Inter managed to use that last week, and Real will try that too.Florentino Perez knows ball..El Clasico WILL always be the biggest club football game in the WORLD. pic.twitter.com/L5w2DMDyTo— 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒 (@ChaaliiyKay) October 15, 2022 Barca has four wins in the last five visits to the Santiago Bernabeu and 12 wins in 20 visits since 2-6 in 2009. The rest since then, three draws and only five losses. With seven wins in a row, Xavi’s Barca has matched a streak between last February and April. Winning today would mean reaching the previous best, dating from 2018-19, with Ernesto Valverde.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 9FridayRayo Vallecano – Getafe 0-0Saturday 15.00: (1.96) Girona (3.45) Cadiz (4.60)17.15: (1.48) Valencia (4.50) Elche (8.50)19.30: (3.10) Mallorca (3.05) Sevilla (2.70)22.00: (2.65) Ath.Bilbao (3.10) Atl.Madrid (2.80)Sunday 15.00: (2.75) Celta (3.10) Sociedad (3.00)17.15: (2.40) Real Madrid (3.50) Barcelona (3.15)19.30: (2.30) Espanyol (3.30) Valladolid (3.60)22.00: (1.63) Betis (4.00) Almeria (6.50)Monday 22.00: (1.66) Villareal (3.80) Osasuna (6.50)***odds are subject to change