The Santiago Bernabéu stadium in the Spanish capital will be the venue this Saturday, December 23, of yet another edition of the biggest classic in world football. Real Madrid will host Barcelona. Started at 10am (GMT), the game is part of the schedule of the seventeenth round of the 2017/2018 edition of LaLiga and will have the rivalry that is already immensely increased by a Barça attitude.

The recent performance of Real Madrid

In Spain, it is common for one team to applaud the other at the time of the field when the rival has just won a title. The tradition should be revived before ‘El Clásico’ as Real Madrid won the previous Saturday, December 16, the title of two-time world champion by defeating the Grêmio, by 1 to 0, in the United Arab Emirates.
With the ragged excuse to only greet opponents champions in competitions of which it is part, Barça anticipated that it will not applaud the Real athletes before the duel of this Saturday. A way of despising the conquest of the capital’s team. Still does not know what will be the response of Real Madrid, but a parade with the trophy before the game may be an option. Such an attitude can have repercussion in the four lines with hard entrances and discussions, although this is not uncommon in the duels involving the teams.
For meringues, the classic has dual importance. In the purely technical matter, any result other than victory would reduce the chances of Real reaching the Spanish bicampeonato. With 31 points (nine wins, four draws and two losses), the capital’s team is only in fourth place. They are 11 points less than Barca. Even if he had a game less, completing the second round with such a difference would mean that the team needed an unimaginable drop in the rival’s performance in the second half of the season so that he could have real chances of reversing the situation.
The second advantage of a win can not be measured, but may even be more important than the points won. This is the self-esteem of athletes. Real have already defeated Barcelona twice in the Spanish Supercup dispute at the start of the season and if they extend that series to three, and Barça have not lost since then, it can knock out their opponent’s confidence not only for LaLiga’s dispute, but also for the Champions League.
The Real did not lose ten games. In the period, won seven times and tied in three opportunities.

The current form of Barcelona

Barça’s unbeaten run is even longer. Since being beaten by the Real in early August, the team has played 24 matches. He won 19 of them and tied five times. As a result, he not only drew the lead of the Spanish Championship by reaching 42 (13 wins and three draws) out of 48 possible points as he advanced to the Round of 16 of the European Champions League and to the quarterfinals of the King’s Cup , a competition that defends the title won last season.
In addition to an impressive series, Barcelona still have the best LaLiga attack with 42 goals scored. This is not exactly new, because the team has always shown an offensive production of the best. However, it gains more importance by signaling that the loss of Neymar, who went to Paris Saint-Germain, did not cause the shock that could be expected. Lionel Messi (16 matches in the Spanish 2017/2018 season, 14 goals) and Luis Suárez (13 matches, nine goals) are playing the role of midfielder Paulinho (15 matches, six goals).
However, the mark that really shows that the team has adjusted its way of playing is in relation to the goals conceded. The Barca defense is the least leaked LaLiga. The Catalan team saw their net swing only seven times. Fruit of the tactical change implanted by the technician Ernesto Valverde, that adopts defensive care much larger than its predecessors.

History of the matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona
The biggest classic in world football may have up to nine editions in the current season. Three of them have already been completed. For the Supercopa of Spain, the Real won, by 3 to 1, in Catalonia, and confirmed the title when doing 2 to 0 in Madrid. Before, in a friendly for the Champions Cup, in the United States, the Barça had scored 3 to 2.

There is no way to indicate technical superiority in a confrontation like this. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have players capable of unbalancing games. A good match between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, can be decisive, as well as appearances by such stars as Marcelo, Bale, Casemiro, Modric, Paulinho, Suárez, Iniesta, among others.
However, the home factor added to the Real’s greater need for victory makes the guess in the capital’s team the most appropriate. It has a price of 2.15 in Rivalo. Draw returns 3.70. Barça success earns 3.20 for 1.