IT has been a bleak week for Real Madrid but a Clasico with Barcelona gives them the chance to banish the dark clouds hovering over the Bernabeu.
A surprise loss at Levante last weekend saw Zinedine Zidane's men surrender top spot in La Liga and more misery was to come in the Champions League days later.
Despite taking the lead at home to Manchester City, Real crashed to a 2-1 defeat, with a late red card for captain Sergio Ramos capping a miserable evening.
To make matters worse, marquee summer signing Eden Hazard now looks set to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
What had looked like a promising campaign under returning hero Zidane is now in danger of unravelling but a win over Barcelona would put Real Madrid back in pole position for their first title in three years.
It has been a better week for Barca, with a battling 1-1 draw away to Napoli in the Champions League coming hard on the heels of a 5-0 thrashing of Eibar.
I tipped the Catalans to win in Naples but they had to settle for a draw and you still get the sense Quique Setien's side are struggling to hit top form.
And with several key players out injured, Barcelona would probably settle for a point at the Bernabeu in what has been a topsy-turvy title defence.
How the bookies view Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Clasicos are always tricky to predict but the bookies think home advantage will just give Real the edge, with Zidane's side a best 5/4 at Betfair.
Barcelona are 2/1 with Paddy Power and Sportingbet, who also price the stalemate at 14/5. I can see this one ending level with neither team looking particularly convincing.
Recent Real Madrid vs Barcelona head to head
Both sides drew a blank when they faced off at the Nou Camp earlier this season, the first 0-0 in a Clasico since 2002.
But the Bernabeu has been a happy hunting ground for Barcelona in recent seasons, winning on five of their last six visits. Real's only win in that run was a 2-0 victory in the Super Cup three years ago.
Barcelona have scored three or more goals on four of their last six visits but last season's league clash in the Bernabeu ended just 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's winner (below).
Real Madrid and Barcelona Players to watch
Real Madrid have been over-reliant on Karim Benzema this season, with no other player hitting more than three goals in La Liga.
The Frenchman has chipped in with 11 but has mustered just a single league strike since Christmas. He remains their biggest threat though and is 5/4 with 888Sport for a goal here.
That's not great value so I'm more drawn to playmaker Isco, who has two goals from his last three games. The Spaniard is 7/2 with Paddy Power to net.
It's hard to ignore Lionel Messi in a Clasico, given he has scored an incredible 27 times against Real Madrid (below). The Barcelona talisman is 5/4 with 888Sport to add to that amazing tally.
Anything else catch the eye?
There hasn't been a red card in El Clasico since Sergi Roberto was sent packing 2018 so we could be due one and it's priced 9/4 at Paddy Power.
Roberto is injured for this one, as is Jordi Alba, so Barcelona won't have either of their first-choice full-backs. Nelson Samedo and Junior Firpo should fill the void and that makes them ripe for a yellow card. Semedo offers better value for a card at 4/1 with Unibet while Firpo is 7/5 with the same firm.
William Hill are offering 29/20 on Barcelona winning over one corner in each half and that also looks like a decent option.
This European match between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be played on Mar 1, 2020 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
