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5 bold La Liga predictions: Barcelona to compound Real Madrid’s misery in El Clasico

By Benjamin Barkworth

SEVILLE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Antonio Mohamed of RC Celta de Vigo reacts during the La Liga match between Sevilla FC and RC Celta de Vigo at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 7, 2018 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images)
SEVILLE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Antonio Mohamed of RC Celta de Vigo reacts during the La Liga match between Sevilla FC and RC Celta de Vigo at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 7, 2018 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images) /
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Rafinha goal celebration during the match between FC Barcelona and Inter, corresponding to the week 3 of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, played at the Camp Nou Stadium, on 24th October 2018, in Barcelona, Spain.— (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Rafinha goal celebration during the match between FC Barcelona and Inter, corresponding to the week 3 of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, played at the Camp Nou Stadium, on 24th October 2018, in Barcelona, Spain.— (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

1. Barcelona to win El Clasico

Neither side has had ideal preparation going into this match as they’ve dropped 22 points in the league between them, perhaps not a huge surprise since they’re both going through periods of transition.

Barcelona are dealing with the departure of Andres Iniesta while trying to integrate Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele into the team. In Arthur, they also have a player who could potentially fill the void left by Xavi’s departure in 2015.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have seen their Champions League three-peat manager leave the club as well as their chief goalscorer for the past nine years. They invested well last season but Zinedine Zidane struggled to break those players into an aging first-team. The summer transfer window was disappointing in that they replaced Cristiano Ronaldo with 25-year-old Mariano Diaz, fresh from his first full season, and brought in Thibaut Courtois, even though they have a perfectly good goalkeeper in Keylor Navas.

Recent Champions League success has overshadowed some of the structural issues they have such as severe consistency issues which caused them to finish 17 points behind Barcelona last season. Julen Lopetegui has naturally struggled to come up with solutions in such a short space of time as their form has disappeared once teams became stubborn to break down.

The absence of key players such as Marcelo and Isco certainly hasn’t helped, but they were unable to stop the winless run in the league in the 2-1 loss to Levante and they only just arrested the slump with a 2-1 win over Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League.

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Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi for this match, a huge boost for Los Blancos. With him in the team and a Real side lacking their usual confidence, the Catalans could have racked up a humiliating scoreline even though they’re far from perfect currently. The clash should be a lot more even without him, though. Real are likely to accept not having control of possession, which makes them a dangerous threat in transition.

Regardless, Barca have a coherent style that they are used to even if there are a few specific issues that need to be addressed in the system especially when transitioning to the defensive shape. The midweek match against Internazionale showcased how well they can play collectively. They can control the tempo through dominating possession and this should translate to high-quality chances created against a defensively leaky Real Madrid, so their recent dominance in league Clasicos should continue.

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