Ronaldo and Madrid look to bounce back from a loss to Sevilla in their last La Liga fixture. (Getty)
First place in La Liga is on the line saturday, when Barcelona looks to hold it’s early table lead on Madrid in the first Clasico of the season. Big names are expected to return to action for both sides including Lionel Messi, who has missed the previous two months with a knee injury. Messi trained with the team this week, and will be a game-time decision.
Barcelona has been in good form recently, but Madrid is the slight favorite in Saturday’s matchup. The home team has won four of the last five Clasicos, and after last week’s loss to Sevilla, Madrid will want to put in a strong showing at the Bernabeu
Here’s everything you need to know for the game:
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2015
Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
Location: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid
Channel: beIN Sports
Match Preview:
The pinnacle of all things rivalry, it’s been almost eight months since we’ve seen these teams meet.
Earlier in the week, there was a chance we’d have to wait longer.
After events outside Stade de France last week followed by a scare in Hannover, the were serious security concerns regarding the highly-anticipated Clasico. Many players in this game were with the Spanish national team earlier this week, who saw their friendly against Belgium cancelled for security concerns.
While it’s normal for any Clasico to be labeled a high-risk event, the cause is rowdy fans rather than terrorism. Earlier this week, Spanish secretary of state for security Francisco Martinez assured the public that the Clasico was not at risk of cancellation.
“There will be an operation without any precedents when it comes to sporting events,” Martinez said. “We have to maintain normality, but without forgetting the situation in which we are in.”
“There will be at least 1,000 police from the national force, which is double what is normal for a game like this, 1,400 private security guards and on top of this there will be the municipal police.”
Spanish newspapers have estimated that this is the biggest Spanish security effort since the 1992 Summer Olympics were held in Barcelona.
Find out how to watch this game in Spanish at AhoraMismo.com:
