Real Madrid vs Barcelona Bet Builder Tips: Rampant Raphinha to end El Clasico wait

This Saturday marks the highlight point of the 2024/25 La Liga season so far as Real Madrid and Barcelona contest the first ‘El Clasico’ at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Below you can find my Real Madrid vs Barcelona Bet Builder tips ahead of an intriguing battle in the Spanish capital.

Both Teams To Score - Yes

Both teams to score has been a winner in the last four La Liga head-to-heads between Real Madrid and Barcelona, while their pre-season friendly at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, also saw both teams strike, with Barcelona emerging from their USA tour as 2-1 winners of El Clasico.

Real Madrid have played 10 times in La Liga this term and 60 per cent (6/10) of their games have ended with both teams scoring, which is 10 per cent shy of Barcelona’s number (70 per cent - 7/10).

Real Madrid vs Barcelona Odds

With the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal - need I go on? - lining up at the Bernabeu, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be goals in this contest, and at least one on either side.

Raphinha (BAR) Anytime Scorer

What a start to the season it’s been for Barcelona’s Raphinha, who took his 2024/25 tally to 11 goals - nine for Barca, two for Brazil - with a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 4-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League.

Football Odds

The 27-year-old hasn’t actually scored in his last two league games but has five goals in La Liga this term, netting a first hat-trick of the campaign against Real Valladolid in August and bagging a brace in a 5-1 hammering of Villarreal last month.

Raphinha has never scored against Real Madrid in seven appearances to date, but if ever he was going to break his duck in this fixture, it would surely be this weekend given his exploits earlier in the week, and his form since the start of the season.

Double Chance - Real Madrid or Draw

Barcelona’s form under new head coach Hansi Flick, who has the Blaugrana top of the La Liga table by three points heading into the weekend, coupled with Real Madrid’s injury issues, has led some to wonder whether we could see the visitors carve out a win at the Bernabeu.

Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo will all be absent for the hosts in the first El Clasico of the season, while Carlo Ancelotti’s side have looked vulnerable even with most of their stars all starting.

Real found themselves 2-0 down at home inside 34 minutes on Tuesday as Borussia Dortmund threatened to run riot in the capital. The 15-time Champions League winners did storm back to win 5-2 but there was enough in that first half to worry Real supporters and encourage Barca fans.

However, Real never know when they are beaten, so if they do go a goal or two down on Saturday, I’m confident they can bring it back to at least take a point.

Ancelotti’s side won all three meetings between the teams last season, beating Barca 2-1 away and 3-2 at home either side of a 4-1 Super Cup success in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will be keen to keep their proud recent record in El Clasico.

Barca also have injuries of their own to contend with; Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are among their absentees.

Vinicius Jr. (RMA) To Be Carded

Vinicius Jr. has a great goalscoring record in this fixture, scoring 10 times in 19 appearances against Barca, including four last season - three in the Super Cup and one at home in La Liga.

However, it’s not been all sunshine for the Brazilian, who has been booked six times in El Clasico - three times in the league, and three times in the Copa del Rey.

He was shown yellow at the Bernabeu in April and has already been cautioned three times in La Liga this season, as well as once in the Champions League - against Dortmund on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old is averaging a mammoth 1.7 fouls per game in the Spanish top flight in 2024/25, while he also comes under rough treatment from opposition defenders, being fouled 2.4 times per game on average, so he’s also liable to be booked for dissent, as much as for an overly aggressive challenge.

You can check out more La Liga Betting Tips  from Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...