Much rides on the first “classico” of the season with the pressure firmly on the visitors, who trail Barcelona by 9 points in the table; Barca have not beaten Real in their last 5 attempts, with Real winning both head-to-heads last season, yet the sides’ contrasting form and circumstances has made the hosts firm favourites at an average of $1.57 to win.

Real have lost 3 out of their last 4 in the league and that, together with former coach Bernd Schuster’s pessimism going into this fixture, cost the title-winning German his job; the appointment of former Spurs coach Juande Ramos caught many by surprise. With Sevilla, Ramos did brilliantly, winning the Uefa Cup twice in a row and establishing the Andalusian side as a top force in the league, but his time with Spurs, though he won the League Cup, was characterised by poor league performances and a lack of direction.

The Spaniard’s forte lies undoubtedly in cup competitions and his main task at Real may be to challenge for the Champions’ League rather than compete for the title, which may well be out of sight if they lose on Saturday evening.

Barcelona lost at home to Shakhtar midweek, but they played a second-string side as they had already qualified for the next stage, and will not be affected by that result; prior to that game, they had gone 19 games unbeaten (winning 17 of them) and at home they had scored an amazing 25 goals in their last 6 league games.

Match Betting Previews 13-14 December 2008 >>> Premiership: Aston Villa v Bolton - Liverpool v Hull - Man City v Everton - Middlesbrough v Arsenal - Stoke v Fulham - Sunderland v WBA - Spurs v Man United - Wigan v Blackburn - Chelsea v West Ham - Portsmouth v Newcastle La Liga: Barcelona v Real Madrid - Sevilla v Villarreal - Recreativo v Osasuna Serie A: Juventus v Milan - Inter v Chievo - Genoa v Atalanta Ligue 1: Le Mans v Bordeaux - Lyon v Marseille Bundesliga: Stuttgart v Bayern - Hoffenheim v Schalke

Barca’s short odds to win are justified and not just on form; Real have injuries throughout the squad – Sneijder, Miguel Torres, Heinze, Pepe, Diarra, Van Nistelrooy and De La Red are all out for this game and Real look short in all areas.

Real’s last two losses against Barcelona were both 0-3 results and with form and injuries going against the capital side, it is hard to see new manager Ramos having enough impact to stop another comprehensive loss to their arch-rivals; the fixed odds look a little too short - it may be worth siding with the handicap home win at $2.70 from Bet365.

BETZINE UK TIP *****

Bet: Handicap (Barca -1 goal) Barcelona to win Odds: $2.70 Stake: 5pts Bookies: Bet365

Match Betting Previews 13-14 December 2008 >>> Premiership: Aston Villa v Bolton - Liverpool v Hull - Man City v Everton - Middlesbrough v Arsenal - Stoke v Fulham - Sunderland v WBA - Spurs v Man United - Wigan v Blackburn - Chelsea v West Ham - Portsmouth v Newcastle La Liga: Barcelona v Real Madrid - Sevilla v Villarreal - Recreativo v Osasuna Serie A: Juventus v Milan - Inter v Chievo - Genoa v Atalanta Ligue 1: Le Mans v Bordeaux - Lyon v Marseille Bundesliga: Stuttgart v Bayern - Hoffenheim v Schalke