Real Madrid are the team in form heading into El Clasico on Saturday but Barcelona are the favourites for a vital victory.
Madrid have moved six points clear at the top of the Primera Division after a run of six straight wins and will head to Camp Nou full of confidence.
In contrast, Barcelona have taken just two points from their last two games after following up their goalless stalemate against nine-man Malaga with a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad last weekend.
Luis Enrique's men, who have also lost to Celta Vigo and Alaves in LaLiga this season, know they cannot afford to drop points against their rivals if they are to retain their title. They have already been pushed out to 6/4 to be crowned champions, with Real now the 3/5 favourites.
That could all change if Barca can make the most of home advantage this weekend and they are 17/20 to win the first El Clasico of the campaign. 888sport are also offering odds on either team to win both of these fixtures this season and Barcelona are 4/1 to take six points off Real, who are 15/2 to win both matches and leave the Catalans needing plenty of help from other teams to have any chance of catching them.
Real have not won both El Clasicos in one LaLiga season since 2007/08 while Barcahave had more success in recent years, doing the double in 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2013/14.
The momentum is with Real at the moment, though, and they are 14/5 to add to Barca’s problems with victory this weekend or 49/50 to avoid defeat. Two early goals from Cristiano Ronaldo fired them to a 2-1 win at home to Sporting Gijon last weekend, although they rode their luck as the visitors missed a second-half penalty.
Ronaldo now has eight goals in his last four LaLiga games and he is 37/25 to be on target on Saturday, 53/10 to score the first goal or 24/5 to score in a Real win.
Arguably the best bet of the match is the 23/50 available for both teams to score. Incredibly, it is a bet which would have paid out in 19 of the last 20 meetings between these two teams, with Barcelona’s clean sheet in a 4-0 victory in the capital last November ending a run of both teams scoring which stretched back to May 2011.
Backing both teams to score and choosing the winner offers the chance for a bigger return, with Barca available at 41/20 and Real 19/4.
This is a fixture which usually guarantees goals, with at least three being scored in the last nine meetings, and over 2.5 goals on Saturday is priced at 12/25. For more ambitious punters, over 3.5 is an 11/9 option and has occurred at least once in El Clasico in each of the last six seasons.
