Barcelona v Real Madrid is a friendly and will be played on Saturday at 11pm: stats, news, live TV, streaming, likely line-ups, predictions
Friendly? Only on paper. Real Madrid and Barcelona, the two big names of Spain animated by an age-old rivalry, can never be united by a feeling of ‘friendship’. On a sporting level, that is.
‘El Clásico’ is always ‘El Clásico’. Whether the context is the ‘Bernabeu’ or if it is staged in Texas, in a stadium that usually hosts Dallas Cowboys football matches. Both involved in the Soccer Champions Tour, Carlo Ancelotti’s men and Xavi’s men could not fail to cross paths on their respective US tours, just over ten days before the first day of La Liga 2023-24, when the real action begins. The challenge at the AT&T Stadium is nothing more than a tasty appetiser of the duel we will witness in a few months, since (almost) every year the title will be theirs. In the last La Liga, Barcelona came out on top, more continuous than the Merengues, who instead gave the impression of focusing more on Europe. Not an exciting year for Real, who brought home ‘only’ the European Supercup, Club World Cup and Spanish Cup. In what is likely to be Ancelotti’s last year on the bench – the Emilian coach has accepted an offer from the Brazilian federation and will become selector of the Greenoro from next summer – the Blancos want to raise the bar of ambition even higher.
Real Madrid, two wins from two in the USA
It was a good Real side in the first two friendlies against AC Milan (3-2) and Manchester United (2-0), which started with the right attitude. The new players did well, especially former Borussia Dortmund man Bellingham, who Ancelotti is deploying behind the two strikers.
Pedri v Arsenal
Barcelona, on the other hand, only took the field on one occasion and lost 5-3 to Arsenal. The blaugrana’s tour was marred by a gastrointestinal virus, which prevented them from playing the test against Juventus, originally scheduled for last Saturday. Xavi is expected to make many changes from the game against Arsenal, with Koundé, de Jong and Kessié vying for a starting shirt. In Real Madrid, Courtois returns to defend the posts after being on the bench against the Red Devils.
The Prediction
On the basis of what we have seen so far, there should be no shortage of goals and spectacle in this atypical ‘Clásico’ at the end of July. Both teams are still running in and it is not easy to identify a clear favourite, especially in such a loaded match. However, Real Madrid has given the feeling of being more ready, and not just because they have played one more match. We hypothesise a success for the Blancos in a match in which they should both score.
Barcelona v Real Madrid likely line-ups
- BARCELONA (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Koundé, Araujo, Eric Garcia, Baldé; Kessié, Romeu, de Jong; Dembélé, Lewandowski, Ansu Fati.
- REAL MADRID (4-3-1-2): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Tchouaméni, Valverde; Bellingham; Joselu, Vinicius Jr.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-3
