The latest instalment of El Clasico will take place at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday afternoon, with the reigning La Liga champions Barcelona hosting their bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Los Blancos are currently the team at the summit, picking up 25 points from their 10 matches courtesy of a record of eight wins, one draw and one defeat this season.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are third, collecting 24 points through seven wins and three draws, and Xavi's side recorded a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the league last weekend.
Real Madrid, though, were held to a 1-1 draw by Sevilla in their last domestic match, and the capital giants have not always been at their free-flowing best this term.
Both of these teams were in Champions League action during the week, with Real Madrid beating Braga 2-1 in Portugal before Barcelona overcame Shakhtar Donetsk by the same scoreline at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Ahead of El Clasico, Sports Mole looks back at the head-to-head record between the two sides.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Matches: 254
Barcelona wins: 100
Draws: 51
Real Madrid wins: 103
Saturday's encounter will be the 255th time that these two absolute giants of Spanish football have locked horns, and it is Real Madrid that lead the head-to-head record 103 wins to Barcelona's 100.
Real Madrid have also scored slightly more goals in their previous encounters, netting 427 times to Barcelona's 415, while the fact that only 51 of their contests have been drawn is slightly surprising considering that they have been well-matched for long periods of their respective histories.
The two teams have locked horns on 186 occasions in the top flight of Spanish football, with Real Madrid also leading the head-to-head record with 77 wins to Barcelona's 74, while there have been 35 draws.
Barcelona have been victorious in two of their last three in the league, including a 2-1 success when they last met at this level of football in March 2023.
Real Madrid recently went five games unbeaten against their rivals in La Liga, though, recording four wins in the process, with the capital outfit triumphing in five of their last seven encounters in Spain's top flight.
© Reuters
Barcelona have 51 home La Liga wins over Real Madrid to their name, although the fact that this match will not take place at Camp Nou due to the renovation works could level out the playing field in that sense.
Somewhat surprisingly, these two teams have only ever met four times in the Champions League, with both winning one match, and the other two fixtures finishing all square. All four games have been in the semi-finals of the competition, with Real Madrid progressing in 2001-02, and Barcelona in 2010-11.
Lionel Messi is the leading goalscorer in El Clasico history, having netted 26 times, while Real Madrid legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Alfredo di Stefano are joint-second in the standings with 18.
Karim Benzema has also scored 16 times against Barcelona, but the centre-forward left Los Blancos over the summer for Saudi Arabia after deciding against renewing his contract.
Real Madrid thumped Barcelona 4-0 away from home when the two teams last clashed in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey back in April, but Barcelona have won four of their last six meetings in all competitions, and it is shaping up to be a fascinating battle on Saturday afternoon.
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Matt Law
