The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu will come under the spotlight on October 16 when Real Madrid and Barcelona lock horns in the first edition of El Clasico in the 2022/23 La Liga season, and it will be available to watch through various websites that stream live football.
While there’s still plenty of time left between now and the 185th La Liga edition of El Clasico, there’s no doubt that both sides are already thinking of this mouth-watering showdown.
Both sides are heavily fancied to take the league title battle until the final weekend, highlighting the importance of this fixture.
It goes far beyond the bragging rights as this encounter may decide the course of the season for the two most successful Spanish clubs.
Real Madrid
Reigning champions Madrid have enjoyed a jaw-dropping title defence, winning all nine matches across all competitions, including six in La Liga, to welcome September’s international break as the domestic pacesetters.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have gone from strength to strength in the early stage of the season despite dealing with an injury of their essential first-team star Karim Benzema.
Madrid’s talismanic striker picked up a knee injury in the first half during Los Merengues’ 3-0 thumping of Scottish Premiership champions Celtic in their curtain-raising Champions League fixture in early September.
But even in Benzema’s absence, the Champions League holders have strung together three competitive victories, including a morale-boosting 2-1 triumph away to Atletico Madrid last time out.
According to Goal, the Frenchman is on the verge of returning to fitness after restarting the training programme to get himself into shape for El Clasico.
Barcelona
Seeking back-to-back La Liga titles for the first time since 2008, Ancelotti’s lads have set the tone for another stellar campaign.
However, current La Liga runners-up Barcelona are not messing around under Xavi Hernandez’s leadership, as evidenced by their high-flying five-game winning league streak.
Since a tepid 0-0 home draw with Rayo Vallecano on the opening weekend, the Catalan heavyweights have won five top-flight games on the spin via an aggregate score of 18-1.
Keen to reclaim domestic supremacy after missing out on the league title in the last two seasons, the Blaugrana have found a new leader in the shape of Robert Lewandowski.
The former Bayern Munich superstar has been nothing short of astonishing during his early La Liga adventure, as he entered the international break as La Liga’s top goalscorer with eight goals.
Revenge-poised fixture
Despite leaving Barcelona a staggering 13 points behind en route to lifting a record-extending 35th La Liga title last season, an embarrassing 4-0 defeat in this corresponding fixture left a bitter taste in Madrid’s mouths.
Ancelotti’s team pulled off a 2-1 win at the Spotify Camp Nou in their first encounter against Barca in 2021/22, but the scares of humiliation in front of the home crowd are still fresh.
Before the Catalans ran them over in March, Madrid had won back-to-back home league H2Hs, yet they’ve also failed to score in three of their last five top-flight clashes in the capital (W2, L3).
While the Bernabeu clash promises excitement for neutrals, neither Los Merengues nor Barca will be out to make friends.
