Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in a pre-season Clasico in New Jersey when they collide at the MetLife Stadium this weekend.
Both La Liga giants have made the journey over to the United States for glamorous summer friendlies in preparation for the upcoming campaign, with Los Blancos in better shape as reigning Spanish and Champions League title holders.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side suffered defeat to their manager’s former club Milan last time out, while a youthful Barca held a weakened Manchester City to a 2-2 draw before winning the resulting penalty shootout.
Here’s 90min’s preview of El Clasico this weekend.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Barcelona |
Real Madrid |
|---|---|
|
Barcelona 2-2 Manchester City (4-1p) – 30/07/24 |
Real Madrid 0-1 Milan – 31/07/24 |
|
Barcelona 1-0 Olot – 25/07/24 |
Real Madrid 3-0 Albacete – 24/07/24 |
|
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona – 26/05/24 |
Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid – 01/06/24 |
|
Barcelona 3-0 Rayo Vallecano – 19/05/24 |
Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis – 25/05/24 |
|
Almeria 0-2 Barcelona – 16/05/24 |
Villarreal 4-4 Real Madrid – 19/05/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Premier Sports 1, Premier Sports Player |
|
United States |
ESPN+, ESPN App |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Barca head coach Hansi Flick was forced into taking a youthful squad on tour this summer, with as many as ten first-team stars absent due to injuries and international commitments earlier in the summer.
Ronald Araujo, Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati haven’t traveled, while Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres are enjoying more time off after winning Euro 2024 with Spain. Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia and Fermin Lopez are currently representing their country at the Olympics in France.
Pau Victor and Pablo Torre, the two goalscorers against Man City last time out, will hope for another start each, but senior figures like Robert Lewandowski, Alejandro Balde and Oriol Romeu could be handed places in the XI.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Pena; Fort, Martinez, Lenglet, Balde; Romeu, Casado; Araujo, Torre, Victor, Lewandowski.
Similarly to Barca, Madrid are also without a number of first-teamers. New signing Kylian Mbappe and England star Jude Bellingham have been given more time off following Euro 2024 alongside tournament winner Dani Carvajal.
Brazilian stars Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Eder Militao have all linked up with the squad after the Copa America and could get minutes, though teenager attackers Endrick and Arda Guler will hope for another start each after their appearances against Milan.
Defender David Alaba is injured and didn’t travel to the US, while Eduardo Camavinga, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni all have more time off to enjoy.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez, Vallejo, Rudiger, Garcia; Modric, Martin, Ceballos; Guler, Endrick, Diaz.
Expect tempers to flare at some point in El Clasico, with a team-on-team scuffle likely to break out in some form when Barca and Madrid meet in New Jersey.
When it comes to the proper action, this American meeting should be a treat for spectators and watchers at home. Both sides are missing considerable personnel but that could open the game up as fringe players try to leave an impression on Flick and Ancelotti.
However, having beaten Barca three times last season with Vinicius potentially making his comeback appearance, Madrid are favourites and will be plotting a morale-boosting pre-season victory.
Prediction: Barcelona 2-3 Real Madrid
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