By Real Madrid welcome bitter rivals Barcelona to the Bernabeu on Saturday for the first El Clasico of the 2024-25 La Liga season, with the visitors holding a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Barcelona have set the pace in Spain’s top flight, winning nine of their opening 10 matches. However, Real Madrid are unbeaten and could move level on points with a victory in front of their home fans.
Los Blancos have had the upper hand in recent meetings between the two sides, winning the last four encounters across all competitions. Carlo Ancelotti’s men did the league double over Barcelona last season, including a 3-2 triumph in the corresponding fixture.
Despite an inconsistent start to the campaign, Real Madrid have been boosted by the goalscoring form of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe. The pair have netted 16 times between them in all competitions, although big-money signing Jude Bellingham is yet to open his account for the club.
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has overseen an impressive start to his tenure, with the Catalan giants scoring a league-high 33 goals. Robert Lewandowski has led the way with 12 strikes, while Raphinha is fresh from scoring a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich.
Both sides have significant injury concerns ahead of the clash. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and forward Rodrygo are facing two to three weeks out, while Barcelona are missing key defenders Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
A capacity crowd is expected at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid aim to extend their 42-game unbeaten run in La Liga and halt Barcelona’s early-season momentum. With neither side wanting to give ground in the title race, a closely-fought encounter is anticipated. In the last 30 meetings between the teams in all competitions, Real Madrid have won 13 to Barcelona’s 10, with seven draws. The most recent stalemate in La Liga came back in December 2019, highlighting the competitive nature of this iconic fixture
