WhoScored tipster: How to bet El Clasico with no Messi or Ronaldo

There’s a curious feel about a game that many feel is the greatest in club football this time around as Barcelona prepare to face fierce rivals Real Madrid.

While Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the historic fixture has been known since a move to Juventus in the summer, injury to Lionel Messi means that it will be the first meeting between the teams without either player present in eleven years. That’s not to mention the fact that Andres Iniesta is also no longer involved following a transfer to Japan, so there’s certainly not the same draw to the latest Clasico that we have become accustomed to.

It doesn’t help that neither club has started the season anywhere near how one would have expected them to in LaLiga either, with Atletico Madrid currently top of the pile after a victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday night.

Barcelona would, of course, reclaim first place in the table with a draw, let alone a victory, but their visitors are in dire straits by comparison.

Real Madrid sit eighth in the table and need all three points to have any chance of ending the weekend any higher than that as new coach Julen Lopetegui’s job hangs by a thread already.

With all that in mind, however, there’s a chance for someone to make themselves a hero at Camp Nou this afternoon, and Luis Suarez’s impact on the rivalry has gone somewhat under appreciated since his arrival at Barcelona. The Uruguayan may not always be on top of his game when the two meet, but in the league in particular he is a real pest to Real Madrid.

The number nine has scored in all four league seasons that he has faced los blancos, scoring six times in the last seven clashes between the sides in Spain’s top-flight. The former Liverpool star hasn’t been free-scoring of late but his record at home has been strong regardless, with three goals and three assists in five league appearances at Camp Nou. With odds at around evens with most bookmakers but as high as 2.15 to score at anytime with Marathon Bet, Suarez will be keen to step up to the plate.

This is a match that hasn’t been won by either side that has been playing at home in their last six meetings, but odds on that pattern changing seem high given the respective form of the two teams. Real Madrid have scored just three goals in their last six league games, with their form over that period only enough to rank seventeenth, so a price of 1.90 on a Barcelona win is big.

To elevate it higher, factoring the absence of the star quality we have seen between the sides in recent years - not only due to the notable absences of certain players but also form - this, ironically, doesn’t seem likely to be a classic, so combing a home win with under 3.5 goals looks a great way to more than treble your money here.

Bet365 will be live streaming today's game between Barcelona and Real Madrid to global audiences with the exception of Spain, Andorra, USA, Middle East and North Africa for members with a funded account or those that have placed a bet 24 hours prior to kick-off.