Santiago Bernabeu will host the first El Clasico of the 2022/23 La Liga season with two high-flying sides, Real Madrid and Barcelona locking horns for an early season title decider.
Both were involved in Champions League action midweek but failed to get a victory with the holders drawing 1-1 against Shakhter and the Catalan outfit playing a spectacular 3-3 draw.
RM vs BAR Match Details
Date: Sunday, 16 October 2022
Time: 16:15 (CET) / 19:45 (IST)
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
RM vs BAR Match Preview
Real Madrid arrives in the contest in second place on the La Liga table despite claiming an equal number of points as their rivals and table-toppers Barcelona with 22 points. Goal difference separates the two at the moment with the Catalan giants scoring one more and conceding six less than the Los Blancos. However, the defending La Liga champions are slightly favorite to achieve all three points in this El Clasico because of Barcelona’s collapse in Europe against opponents of similar strengths. Carlo Ancelloti’s side finished 13 points clear of their rivals last season in a clean sweep for the title but it won’t be a straightforward task this time out looking at the spring in the step of Barcelona in the league rejuvenating themselves after some stellar summer signings despite financial difficulties. Now, the Blaugranas are gaining as many points on the board as Madrid so winning at the weekend may not be enough to be on the cusp of landing back-to-back league titles. Ancelloti also knows the treatment he got when they welcomed Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu in the league last season, staying above them yet suffering a humiliating 4-0 loss. Injuries became a major issue on that occasion and this time the star blend opposition could cause trouble. Los Blancos were out of pace in their midweek European encounter against Shakhter Donetsk, motivated by the recent war killings in Ukraine, took a spirited lead after half-time and the Champions League holders had to wait until the fifth of the eleven minutes added on to find the equalizer with Antonio Rudiger taking a blow to the head for it. The Italian manager admitted he was disappointed with the team’s display wanting to replace the passiveness of his side ahead of competing in the biggest game of their calendar this year. Real Madrid are optimistic after only dropping two points at home although Barcelona have won every of their away league game so far.
Even after the unconvincing 1-1 draw against Shakhter Donetsk, Real Madrid are in pole position to secure a Champions League Round of 16 berth, the same which cannot be said about Barcelona. Xavi’s men needed a win against Inter to stay in the European competition but a 3-3 draw has mathematically confirmed their elimination from the group stages for the second season running. Only three points gather from four games in the group stage, Barcelona now have to do the unthinkable task of beating Bayern Munich and somehow Viktoria Plzen with zero points and 16 goals conceded halt Inter at San Siro to keep their qualification hopes alive. This comes as a huge blow for the club that has invested a lot in the summer for the squad taking certain financial risks to win silverware. Ousmane Dembele gave some hope to Barca fans with his goal giving the club lead before the break after Edin Dzeko has hit the crossbar for Inter. Some shoddy defending in the second half by the center-back pair, Eric Garcia and Gerard Pique, on the night due to injuries gave spaces for Nico Barella and Lautaro Martinez to make it 2-1 in space of 13 minutes between the strikes. Talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski rose to the occasion by netting the equalizer and when it seems Barcelona are heading for an instant exit through Robin Gossen’s effort in the 87th minute, the Pole struck again to save humiliation on the night. The Catalan giants have to avoid a slip-off in La Liga now with the all-significant El Clasico coming up against holders Real Madrid. Unlike Europe, Barcelona have proven to be a near-perfect side winning each game after beginning the season with a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano. Their defensive record has been staggering with only one goal conceded in eight rounds that too in an away fixture against Real Sociedad early in the season. Barcelona have scored more goals in the league with 20 although only managed two 1-0 wins in the last two games. A similar result will do against Real Madrid if their European football fatigue and the situation in the Champions League doesn’t affect the players both physically and mentally. Anything other than a defeat will boost their confidence in taking the league title back from their rivals this season.
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RM vs BAR Team News
The big news from the Real Madrid locker room is Thibaut Courtois will stay out for a few more days with a back injury. Courtois is doing well in training and will do more sessions in the upcoming week to be fit before the end of the month. The Belgian shot-stopper was expected to be fit in time for the El Classico but it is the Ukrainian Andriy Lunin continuing to guard the post for the Los Blancos. Antonio Rudiger received stitches on the nasty head injury he suffered while scoring the stoppage-time equalizing goal in the 1-1 draw against Shakhter in the Champions League. He is back in training with a mask on his face and is available for the big game this weekend. However, the former Chelsea man is unlikely to be handed a start with Eder Militao partnering David Alaba in the back four.
Barcelona manager Xavi confirmed that Jules Kounde is hundred per cent ready for the El Classico and will make his place in the starting eleven, unavailable since the international break last month. This comes as a huge boost for the team light in the defensive sector with Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo out injured and Gerard Pique in poor form. Other injuries involve Memphis Depay and Hector Bellerin both not returning till the end of the month. Robert Lewandowski is the league’s top scorer with nine goals to his name, two more than any other player in the league. He has scored six goals against Los Blancos during his time at the two German clubs, Dortmund and Bayern so he will be licking his lips to extend that scoring tally in his first El Clasico.
RM vs BAR Predicted Lineups
RMA: Andriy Lunin; Daniel Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr
FCB: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Alex Balde; Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha
RM vs BAR Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Ter Stegen (7)
DEF: Carvajal (8), Kounde (8), Alaba (8.5), Balde (8)
MID: Valverde (8.5), Kroos (8), Pedri (7.5)
FW: Vinicius (9), Benzema (9), Lewandowski (9)
Vice-captain: Karim Benzema
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
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