Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Spanish La Liga.
Camp NouAttendance98,485.
Saturday 3 December 2016 15:21, UK
Luis Enrique hopes the return of Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta can help his team get the better of Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season.
Iniesta has been sidelined by a knee injury for five weeks but is back ahead of schedule for the clash at the Nou Camp.
"The biggest news is that we're getting Iniesta back, which has extra importance since he's our captain," Enrique told his pre-match press conference. "If there's one player who helps most with our style, it's him."
Enrique is likely to need his big names to be on song as Barca attempt to close the six-point gap to Real at the top of the table.
Success in recent El Clasicos has been evenly shared but Barca have dominated La Liga, winning the title in six of the last eight seasons.
But Real striker Karim Benzema thinks that league positions will have no bearing on the game at the Nou Camp..
"It will be a very tough game against a great team so we know that we have, as always, a huge match ahead of us," the Frenchman said on realmadrid.com.
"There will be a lot of pressure, everyone is braced for that. For that reason, going into the game there as league leaders does not make a difference."
As well as having Iniesta back, Enrique can call upon defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique, who are both fit after picking up knocks last weekend.
For Real, Gareth Bale is missing as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery, which could keep him out for up to four months.
Toni Kroos could feature in some capacity after training with his team-mates on Friday having recovered from a foot injury which has ruled him out in recent weeks.
Lionel Messi is the top goalscorer in El Clasico history, with 21 to his name.
Messi has not scored in a Clasico match where he has been playing at the same time as both Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Messi has gone five matches without a goal against Madrid in all competitions - his worst run against Los Blancos.
Cristiano Ronaldo is more successful away from home - 10 out of his 16 Clasico goals were scored at Camp Nou.
Only Alfredo Di Stefano (18) has scored more goals against Barcelona for Real Madrid than Ronaldo.
Suarez is the only player to have scored twice in a Clasico where either 'MSN' or Real Madrid's 'BBC' frontline have played together.
Zidane could become the first Real Madrid manager to win consecutive away games against Barcelona since Miguel Munoz in 1965.
Real Madrid have received 11 red cards in their last 26 games against Barcelona, four of them to Sergio Ramos.
The Clasico has not produced a 0-0 draw since November 2002.
Enrique's men are just 17/20 to secure the three points despite losing La Liga title favouritism to their great rivals amid a worrying run of form.
Madrid have the chance to pull nine points clear with victory as they arrive on a six-match winning run, with virtually every other form guide angle pointing to them being well overpriced at 11/4.
Sky Bet's 9/2 on offer for Ronaldo to score in a Real Madrid win is not only among the biggest you will see on the market but is also substantially backed up by form lines.
The usual sub-plot of Messi v Ronaldo has rarely been so prominent in this fixture, with both sides heavily relying on their star men.
The visitors' dependence has been accentuated by Bale's injury, but the Welshman's absence should not deter potential backers of the visitors.
Indeed, while his importance to the European champions has grown against lesser opposition, his influence in Spain's big games has been relatively nominal, failing to net in the league against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid.
Barca have their supporting cast fit but out of sorts, with Luis Suarez, who averaged over a goal-per-game last season, scoring just three in his last 10, while Neymar has failed to find the net in seven.
Messi has stepped up with 16 goals from his last 11 games but that has not been enough to prevent them from winning just two of their last five in all competitions.
Prediction: Real Madrid to win and Cristiano Ronaldo to score - 9/2 with Sky Bet
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