Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: El Clasico live stream, how to watch, odds as Xavi’s men look to bounce back
Sunday sees the latest chapter in what is arguably the greatest football rivalry in the world real Madrid welcome Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu for El Clasico. It’s the first clash between the two Spanish giants this season and it always goes in the opposite direction, or so it seems. They go top of La Liga table with 22 points, although Barca are first on goal difference.
Real remain unbeaten this season, including in the Champions League, but Barca stagger into this game and face UCL elimination.
Barca lost at Inter Milan last week on Matchday 3 and then on Wednesday at home to the Italians on Matchday 4 they blew an advantage and settled with a 3-3 draw that tasted more like defeat than anything else. That leaves them three points behind Inter with two games left. If Inter wins against Victoria Pilsen At the end of the month, on Matchday 5, Barca are eliminated from the UCL.
Manager Xavi feels his team have been hit hard by recent results in Europe and they are on the brink of another embarrassing exit from the biggest stage. With all the additions in the low season led by Robert Lewandowskinobody saw this coming.
“It’s difficult to say anything because we played really well in the first half, really well,” Xavi told CBS Sports after the game. “We deserved a lot more, I think in the result, but that’s football. We conceded a lot in the second half. A lot.”
How to see and odds
- date: Sunday 16 October | time: 10:15 a.m. ET
- location: Santiago Bernabeu – Madrid
- TV: ESPN Deported | Live broadcast: fuboTV (try for free)
- Opportunities: Real Madrid +123; Draw +260; Barcelona +210 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Barca allowed Inter three goals in that second 45-minute session. Barca had 25 shots compared to Inter’s 11 but had to come from behind twice to salvage a point. Part of the problem Barca are currently facing is the lack of healthy centre-backs. In recent weeks they have had to start Gerard Pique, who is light years away from being a good defender, as shown on Wednesday when he gifted Nico Barella his goal. They started too Marco Alonso due to injury in the central defender. Alonso is a full-back, or full-back, known for being anything but underperforming in defense. So if you have to put him in central defence, that’s a concern.
These central defenders are currently on the coaching table:
- Ronald Araujo (Adductor avulsion), out until at least after Christmas
- Jules Kounde (Achilles Trouble), available since September 23rd, but may be back this weekend
- Andrew Christensen (sprained ankle), has been out since October 5, his return unclear
These are Barca’s top three centre-backs so it’s not surprising that this defense is struggling. Xavi knows it’s a problem, but he knows it takes more than just a healthy body.
“We have to be more aggressive,” he said. “It’s the Champions League. We concede a lot and then, okay, we draw, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough. I think it’s really, really, really cruel for us.”
“Obviously in this type of level it’s very dangerous. The result changed in five minutes. We had mentality, we draw a draw, but it’s difficult to say something because it’s cruel … In Milan, even in Munich, because I think we deserve a lot more.
“We lowered the intensity, the high pressure wasn’t the same… The circulation of the ball, everything was different. It’s a shame.”
On Sunday, if these are not corrected, just imagine what Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. could do it. Despite a recent slum, Barca’s attack has been solid for the most part. They have averaged less than a goal per game in their last three games playing in that recent clash with Inter. But the defense suffered its biggest defeat of the election campaign on Wednesday. To avoid that in El Clasico, they need to be sharper, fitter and fitter show an intensity that was absent at the Camp Nou.