Real Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction and Betting Tips: 18/1 Bet Builder for El Clasico

Real Madrid kept alive their chances of winning a Champions League and La Liga double after they defeated Man City on penalties. Los Blancos will return to domestic duties on Sunday night with the small matter of a top-of-the-table El Clasico at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid just love the Champions League. Despite only having 33% of the ball over the course of 120 exhausting minutes at the Etihad, they dug deep and held their nerve to knock holders Man City out of Europe, thus taking a step closer to winning a record-extending 15th Champions League trophy.

Carlo Ancelotti's men will have little time to celebrate as attention turns to claiming a huge win over Barcelona which would effectively end the La Liga title race.

After 31 games, leaders Real Madrid hold an eight point lead over their old foes in second spot, a gap which would be extended to 11 points with just six games remaining should they claim the spoils on Sunday night.

Barcelona have done their best to keep up with Real Madrid with 11 wins from their last 14 games, winning their last four in a row.

However, we'll have to see just how much Tuesday's Champions League exit has taken out of Xavi's side. They had claimed a 3-2 first-leg win over PSG last week, then took the lead on home soil in the return fixture, only to then have Ronald Araujo sent off in the 29th minute which dramatically changed the tie as PSG went on to score four goals without reply.

The bookmakers favour Real Madrid to get the job done at 10/11. Barcelona are 3/1 to bounce back and claim an important win which would reduce the gap between the sides to five points, with a draw also priced at 3/1.

Goals and cards are a recurring theme in this fixture. I've handpicked bets from both markets, with the addition of a player-focused shot on target bet, to form an 18/1 Bet Builder for Sunday night's El Clasico.

The contests are drenched in passion, which often leads to a high number count in the referee's book. The seven clashes from this season and last term have contained a combined 39 cards, with last April's Copa del Rey second-leg overflowing with 11 cards alone.

It's therefore perhaps no surprise to see that bookmakers have been cautious in the cards market, pricing over six cards at 5/6. However, with so much at stake on Sunday, I think this one could boil over, making the 4/1 appeal for a red card.

Since the start of the 2015/16 season, this fixture has produced eight reds, most recently Ronald Araujo who was handed his marching orders in the last meeting back in January.

As for goals, both teams to score seems a logical pick at 8/15. It's landed in six of the last seven league duels between the sides as well as in Real Madrid's 4-1 Super Cup victory a few months ago.

Real Madrid have scored in every single one of their last 30 matches in all competitions, including a 3-3 thriller against Man City in their last home game, while Barcelona have scored and conceded in a whopping 13 of their last 16 away games.

Finally, I've selected the in-form Rodrygo to have over 1.5 shots on target at 2/1. He has scored five goals in his last four games for club and country, including in both legs of Real Madrid's quarter-final tie against Man City's, while no player in his own squad or that of Barcelona's has stamped more La Liga shots on target than his tally of 33, which includes 2+ in four of his last five league appearances.

Chuck these three bets into a Bet Builder cauldron and we have ourselves a 18/1 fancy with bet365.