Spanish La Liga
2012-10-07 - Barcelona vs Real Madrid
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : Spain : La Liga
Sunday, October 7th, 2012, 6:50PM GMT
PREVIEW
Let's be honest, these 2 teams haven't quite looked as great on defence as they normally are. We could spend all day trying to argue for a winner, with Barcelona the likeliest but priced too short while Madrid a team that could easily show up and blow totally cold, against recent form.
Real Madrid have lost 10 of the last 17 meetings with Barcelona, but have picked up wins in 2 of the last 3 meetings with Barcelona. I know the bulk of the money is on Barcelona, which is why they are priced under even money, but they don't deserve to be this short. While Barcelona have won all 6 matches this season, they have not been as dominant of late as they were in the start of the season.
Over the last few weeks, the leaders have only just edged past Valencia here 1-0, have trailed Seville by 2 goals before escaping somehow with a 3-2 win. Spartak Moscow also ran them close in a 3-2 finish. Barcelona may be tops while Madrid are 6th, but remember, both teams have surrendered the exact number of goals, 5.
It's the Barcelona offence that has made the difference, clearly. But they have needed to, as their defence gets worse. Messi has not been anywhere near as good of late, while Ronaldo looks like the man, netting in game after game. The Portuguese doesn't exactly seem unhappy, or doesn't allow it to mess with his game, scoring in the comeback against Manchester City (which must have turned the corner for the team, because they have won every game since) and then scoring hattricks in his last 2 matches, with Madrid beating Deportivo La Coruna 5-1 and most recently pulverising Ajax 4-0.
The head-to-head shows that neither defence has managed to keep a clean sheet in the last 9 meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it is Ronaldo who has shone in this fixture of late, scoring in each of his last 5 Clasico meetings with Barcelona, including the last 4 played in the Nou Camp.
BETTING VERDICT
Madrid won on their last La Liga trip here, 2-1. That was the last meeting last season, where Real Madrid wrested the title away, and this season they have split wins in the Super Cup, both teams winning at home by a 1 goal margin but Real Madrid scoring more goals on aggregate.
This is going to be huge and you could bet on both teams to score, a red card, a penalty and I'm sure you would collect each time.
With Puyol missing from defence after breaking his arm, I'm going to stick my neck out here and suggest 2 bets. Take Ronaldo to score, again. And take Real Madrid to frustrate Barcelona and edge the win. The prices on both are too big to ignore.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
BEST BETTING TIP :
MAIN BET:Take Real Madrid to win @ 4.05 (Pinnacle)
Also consider :
Cristiano Ronaldo to score @ 2.25 (BetVictor)
