The latest instalment of sport's most famous matchup takes place this Thursday night (20:45 CET)
Rivalry Series: Predicting the winner of Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
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Everybody knows about the significance of El Clásico, but the 37th edition of this legendary fixture between FC Barcelona (7-4) and Real Madrid (5-6) in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this century should bring plenty of intrigue. On the morning of game day, which team do the Euroleague.net experts think will come out on top?
Geoff Gillingham, Javier Gancedo, Igor Petrinovic and Frankie Sachs have all predicted their winner in this Rivalry Series matchup.
Geoff: Over the last five years, Barcelona has dominated in regular-season matchups against Real Madrid (7-3 since 2019), but Los Blancos have twice come out on top against their archrivals at the Final Four in that time (2022, 2023). More recently, Chus Mateo's men are yet to win on the road this season and Barcelona has given up 100+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in EuroLeague history. Making a prediction in that context certainly makes things complicated, but I think Real Madrid will get back on track and stun the Palau Blaugrana crowd by coming away with the win, one day before Barcelona turns 125 years old.
Geoff’s prediction: Real Madrid by 3-6 points.
Igor: In general, Barcelona has looked better than Real Madrid so far this season, but not last week when it got blown out in Munich. Meanwhile, Los Blancos struggled defensively in the first half against ALBA Berlin in Round 11 before pulling away to a double-digit win. However, I think Barcelona will bounce back this week and I feel this game means more to Barcelona than it does to Real. That might sound a bit strange. After all, Barcelona has a 7-4 record, which is two wins more than Real. But simply looking at their recent history, and Los Blancos winning the majority of important games between the two sides, I think this one is a must-win for Barcelona. I think they pull it out, getting the Real Madrid monkey off their back.
Igor's prediction: Barcelona wins by 7.
Javi: In general, El Clásico is one of the hardest games to predict in world sports, as Real and Barca know everything about each other and more often than not, small details can make a huge difference. In particular, this game has not come at the best time for either of the teams: Real is looking for its first road win in this EuroLeague season, while Barcelona lost its last two showdowns. This past summer saw the Azulgrana sign Youssoupha Fall and Justin Anderson, two players to use against Real Madrid stars Walter Tavares and Facu Campazzo, respectively. It also plays at home and the atmosphere at Palau Blaugrana will be electric. On the other hand, Real has a core of players that have been together in many games like this, plus Dzanan Musa is back and Los Blancos have not won a EuroLeague Clásico at Palau since 2018. That's why I am going for the unexpected: Real breaks its road losing streak with a stunning performance against its archrival.
Javi's prediction: Real wins by 7.
Frankie: If the playoffs began today, two things are true. First, it would be pretty odd because it’s still November. Second, it would be pretty odd because both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid would be in the Play-In Showdown. Which is another way to say, both teams really need this win. Barcelona is coming off back-to-back blowout losses, including at home to Paris Basketball. Real is winless on the road this season. That detail alone should be enough to feel confident in Barcelona, which is also welcoming Raul Neto into the rotation this week. If you asked me to pick this game in September, I would have said Real hands down as the team with more talent and chemistry. If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said Barcelona hands down as the team getting the most of its talent. Today? This game could go either way. My gut says stick with Barcelona. We have not seen the best of real yet this season and I don’t think it will happen in El Clásico.
Frankie's prediction: Barcelona bangs out a comfortable victory.