Who wins the El Clasico? . . . Real Madrid or Barcelona

The international break is over, and all eyes are on the El Clasico this weekend as Real Madrid host eternal rivals Barcelona on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu eight days since terrorists attacked several areas of Paris.

There will be heightened security ahead of this weekend’s mouthwatering El Clasico encounter in light of the recent shocking events that took place in Paris on Friday night.

Madrid host Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu with three points and one place between them in La Liga, with the Catalans slightly ahead at this stage. El Clasico as a standalone game is always a thunderous, exciting and extraordinary event, but it’s equally significant over an extended period of time as a way of showing dominance over one side or the other—or letting hope spring eternal with a surprise victory.

Real Madrid will be looking for victory in the first Clasico of the season as they aim to regain top spot in La Liga.

The El Clasico this weekend is likely to be called off after the Paris attacks. Europe is on high alert following the deadly bombings and shootings in the French capital and a friendly match between Spain and Belgium due to take place in Brussels later on Tuesday has been postponed.

But the Spanish government’s top sports official has sent out a message of calm and said there is no reason for El Clasico to be postponed. Miguel Cardenal, the head of Spain’s sports council (CSD), said officials would meet on Wednesday to discuss security at the match and steps would be taken to allow fans to attend the match “with a guarantee of normality”.

“We are the first ones interested in making sure nothing untoward occurs,” Cardenal said. “So if anything happens that requires the public to be given certain instructions like suspending a match that will be done. The correct message is one of calm. The advice is the same as last week, to act normally and in absolute freedom.”

Some big names like Lionel Messi is a big doubt for the game. The Argentine has been out of action with a knee injury since 26 September, but reports in the Spanish media suggest he could be a substitute for the trip to Madrid.

Messi has missed the last 10 games, but he did return to training on Monday and there is a fair chance Barca will do everything in their power to get him on the field on Saturday.

Neymar and Luis Suarez have flourished in his absence, scoring their last 16 league goals with Barcelona winning 8 of those 10 matches.

For Real Madrid, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez made their returns to action in the defeat at Sevilla but Karim Benzema missed out for, though he has also been struggling with an injury, too. He should be back for the Clasico.

Real Madrid have the home advantage but given recent form it will be a big task to stop Barcelona’s lethal strike force, whether or not Messi plays.

One of Madrid advantage is eight players in the Whites squad have already scored against Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema, with 15 and 7 goals respectively, head the list.

Behind them is Sergio Ramos, who has scored three goals in his 30 games against the azulgrana side. Varane got two in the 2012/13 Copa del Rey. A season later, in the final of that competition, Bale handed the Whites the title with an unforgettable run. Pepe, Jesé and Marcelo complete the list of El Clásico goalscorers. But Barcelona seems to have an edge following their fine form in recent games, but Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez will want to make his first El Clasico statement with a win in front of the home fans.

Anthony Nlebem