The first El Clasico of the season takes place on Saturday when Barcelona host rivals Real Madrid at their temporary Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys home.
Barca have relocated to the venue in the Montjuic region of the city this season while the famous Camp Nou is being renovated.
Xavi's side will hope to maintain their impressive form in the stadium that hosted the 1992 Olympics, where a victory could potentially see them replace Los Blancos at the top of the table.
Barcelona – 29/20
Draw – 13/5
Real Madrid – 17/10
Barcelona to win – 29/20
Real sit at the top of La Liga with an impressive record of eight wins, one draw and one defeat from their first 10 matches, but unbeaten Barca are only a point behind in third with seven victories and three draws from their first ten.
Sandwiched between the El Clasico rivals are surprise package Girona, who have an identical record to Real. They know they could go top this weekend if they beat Celta Vigo on Friday and Barca win or Saturday's clash ends in a draw.
It's tempting to suggest the Barca-Real showdown will end all square as it looks like there's little to choose between the two old rivals but Xavi's side, despite a raft of injuries, are tipped to edge it.
Barca have settled into life at their temporary surroundings very quickly, winning their first seven matches at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys - five of which have been to nil.
Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League success over Shakhtar Donetsk was the latest of those home wins, while Real were also 2-1 victors in Europe's premier club competition this week after they saw off Sporting Braga in Portugal.
Jude Bellingham – Anytime Goalscorer – 21/10
Jude Bellingham could not have wished for a better start to life at Real Madrid following his huge summer move from Borussia Dortmund as the England international has ridiculously scored 11 goals in just 12 appearances in all competitions.
The midfielder has already hit late winners against Celta Vigo and Getafe in the league and Union Berlin in the Champions League, and he comes into Saturday's El Clasico after also registering the crucial second goal against Braga in Europe on Tuesday.
His goal record is even more impressive considering he has been operating in his usual midfield role and not up front and the 20-year-old's all-round performances suggest he has what it takes to go on to dominate in La Liga, the Champions League and on the international stage for the Three Lions for years to come.
A goal in the first El Clasico of the season would only further underline his world-class talent and it would be no surprise to see him make his mark in one of the biggest club games on the planet at the earliest opportunity.
Sergi Roberto, Pedri and Jules Kounde have all been ruled out for Barca, while Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong are major doubts.
Lewandowski and De Jong have yet to re-join group training but some reports say they both still have an outside chance of making the squad for Saturday, while Raphinha is the closest of that trio to return as he has at least taken part in some of the group work in the past few days.
Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and Dani Ceballos are all still out injured for Real, while Arda Guler is back in training but this clash will come too soon for the young midfielder.
Fears Bellingham had suffered a knock against Braga when he was taken off late in the second half have proven to be unfounded and the former Birmingham City youngster is set to start.
There was one win apiece in La Liga last season as Real won 3-1 at home and Barca were 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture.
Real overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit in the Copa del rey semi-final last season in spectacular style when they won the second leg at the Camp Nou 4-0 to progress to the final.
Barca finished 10 points clear of second-placed Real last season to win La Liga.
Barcelona wins | 100 |
Draws | 52 |
Real Madrid wins | 102 |
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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