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La Liga
Oct 25, 2014 at 5pm UK
 
BL

3-1

Ronaldo (35' pen.), Pepe (50'), Benzema (61')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Neymar (4')

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

:Headline: Preview: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: ID:184272: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews the first El Clasico of the season between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu as Luis Suarez prepares to make his debut for the visitors.

Luis Suarez could make his long-awaited Barcelona debut when they travel to Real Madrid for the first El Clasico of the La Liga season on Saturday evening.

The Uruguayan striker joined Barca from Liverpool for £75m this summer but has been prevented from playing by the worldwide ban handed to him for his bite of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

He watched the last game during his suspension on Tuesday evening as the Catalan giants recorded a 3-1 home victory over Ajax in the Champions League, in which Lionel Messi and Neymar both scored.

Luis Enrique may be tempted to start Suarez alongside his fellow South Americans, who have each netted in all of Barcelona's last five games, in a formidable forward line when they visit their biggest rivals.

Madrid themselves come into the game on the back of an impressive European result, having put Liverpool to the sword to win 3-0 at Anfield, with Cristiano Ronaldo notching before Karim Benzema's brace.

Ronaldo has a staggering 20 goals in 15 appearances this season and undoubtedly presents the biggest test yet of a Barcelona defence which has yet to be breached in their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Twenty-two points from eight games see Barca top the standings by three points from Sevilla, with Madrid one further back in third having recovered from two early defeats to win five La Liga matches on the spin.

Gareth Bale missed out on a return to British soil with a hip problem which will also sideline him from the encounter at the Bernabeu, so Isco will keep his place as one of three attacking midfielders.

El Clasico veteran Sergio Ramos is also a fitness doubt having picked up a calf injury. Raphael Varane is again in line to deputise in a defence which could feature Dani Carvajal rather than Alvaro Arbeloa at right-back.

Should Enrique gamble on Suarez, Pedro is the most likely to make way and other members of Barca's golden generation, Xavi and Gerard Pique, could strangely find themselves on the fringes of Clasico chaos.

Ivan Rakitic has nailed down Xavi's place in midfield, while Jeremy Mathieu's return to fitness puts Pique's inclusion in jeopardy, should Javier Mascherano be deployed in the centre of defence. Claudio Bravo will be recalled in goal after Marc-Andre ter Stegen was given a go in midweek.

Barcelona won both La Liga matches between the teams last season before Carlo Ancelotti's side gained revenge in the Copa del Rey final.

Recent form

Real: WWWWWW

Barcelona: WWWLWD

Possible starting lineups

Real: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric; James, Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema

Barcelona: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Neymar, Messi, Suarez

Sports Mole says: 2-2


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1Barcelona14111242142834
2Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
3Real Madrid1283125111427
4Villarreal127322319424
5GironaGirona146352018221
6Mallorca146351312121
7Osasuna136341720-321
8Athletic Bilbao135531913620
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad135351110118
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179
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