Barcelona vs. Real Madrid odds, picks, predictions: Best bets for Saturday's El Clasico preseason friendly from proven soccer expert
Arch-rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid square off Saturday in a highly-anticipated El Clasico preseason friendly at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas. The Spanish La Liga giants are preparing for the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season, which kicks off Aug. 11. Barcelona won their 27th La Liga title last season and will open against Getafe on Aug. 13. Real Madrid are 35-time league champs but finished 10 points behind their rivals last season. They start their La Liga season against Athletic Bilbao on Aug. 12.
Saturday's match is set to kick off at 5 p.m. ET. Real Madrid are +115 favorites (risk $100 to win $115) in the latest Barcelona vs. Real Madrid odds, with Barcelona +180 underdogs. A draw is priced at +260 and the over/under for total goals scored is 3.5. (.)
Before you bet on Real Madrid or Barcelona or make any other preseason friendly predictions, you must see what SportsLine's soccer expert Jim Holliman has to say.
Holliman has been a writer and editor for nearly 25 years and grew up with soccer in his blood. He played competitively through high school and has been following the game closely since the 1970's heyday of the North American Soccer League. His interest has expanded worldwide, and his betting approach is centered on crunching the numbers, but he sees the whole field and relies on his instinct.
The expert had a profitable season on both English Premier League and the German Bundesliga and is 63-62-1 overall on his soccer article picks for SportsLine. He went 34-30-1 (+1.69 units) on EPL picks and 7-3 (+2.79) on the Bundesliga. The expert also was 21-10 (+11.47) on 2022-23 UEFA Champions League picks.
Holliman knows Barcelona dominated their first preseason friendly on June 6, beating Japan J1 League side Vissel Kobe 2-0. The Blaugrana put 10 of 22 shots on target in the match. Midfielder Franck Kessie and defender Eric Garcia scored the goals. Barca added Ilkay Gundogan to a side that features Robert Lewandowski (23 goals in 2022-23). Ansu Fati and Pedri both just turned 20 and combined for 13 goals last season. They should get plenty of work before the season starts.
The expert also has considered that Los Blancos beat Barca 4-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey semifinals back in April. They won 4-0 on the road in the second leg. Karim Benzema had a hat trick, and he has moved on, but Vinicius Junior, who scored the other goal, is a dangerous scorer in his own right. Vinicius scored the winner in a 3-2 victory against AC Milan in their opener at the Rose Bowl, and Federico Valverde had a brace as Real rallied from 2-0 down.
Holliman has taken an in-depth look at the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid matchup and made his picks. He has locked in two other CONFIDENT best bets, including one that returns nearly +300! You ABSOLUTELY need to see his picks and analysis before making any selections of your own.
