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An enticing feast of football awaits us this weekend, culminating with the best of the action late on Sunday. The anticipation surrounding the customary clashes will be dwarfed that of by the Milan derby and the first La Liga instalment of El Clasico this season, with those two games drawing the weekend's football to a close on Sunday night.
With so much of the focus on these games, WhoScored.com has taken a closer look into trends surrounding the two rival clashes for our latest betting preview.
AC Milan vs Inter - Match Preview
The two Milan sides meet at their shared ground for the first time since the troublesome part-artificial, part-natural surface was installed in the summer. Since then, Milan and Inter have won only 2 out of 10 games combined in all competitions at the ground, with Milan only managing 2 goals and Inter scoring 7 but conceding 12. Clearly, the new pitch is taking some getting used to, with the 2 victories coming in the club's most recent respective outings on it.
As well as neither side having drawn at San Siro in the league this season, none of the last 18 meetings in all competitions between the rivals has ended in a draw; a somewhat surprising statistic for two teams that have been fairly evenly matched for some time now. With odds as slim as 1.25, either team to win - or the game not to be drawn - is clearly a likely occurrence, and it could be perfect to build up the odds on an accumulator.
Less likely, but with more appealing odds, is for the opening goal to be scored in the first 15 minutes of the game. The first goal has been scored before the 15 minute mark in four of the last five Milan derbies in Serie A, and at odds of 3.25, there is a decent return on it. With both teams fired up for a feisty clash, the teams tend to come out all guns blazing, often resulting in an early strike.
As for who might score that all important first goal, Diego Milito is well worth a punt. He has scored 8 goals in 8 games against Milan, 4 of which he netted in the two meetings last season. Furthermore, he has scored the first goal in three of the last four games he has started against Milan. Odds of 7.00 to do so again are certainly tempting, as is 2.75 for Milito to score anytime for the more cautious amongst us.
One more thing worth considering is the recent form of Milan prodigy Stephen El Shaarawy, who has scored 5 goals in his last 4 games. He has flourished in front of goal since moving out to the wing, and add to this the fact that he has scored the last 2 times that he has faced Samir Handanovic, he may well be worth a flutter with odds of 3.00 to score anytime or 8.00 to score first.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid - Match Preview
The biggest game in the La Liga calendar sees Real Madrid, currently down in lowly 6th place, travel to league leaders and early favourites to be champions, Barcelona. This game always carries a great deal of importance in the title race, but rarely at such an early stage in the season has it held as much importance as it does now. With Barcelona already 8 points clear of Real, a win for the Catalans could give them an unassailable lead at the top, with the 4 teams currently separating the two also unlikely to catch them.
The game is always a feisty affair, but some will be surprised to learn that in all competitions, the last 6 'clasicos' have produced only two red cards. What clashes between the rivals do produce is goals, and plenty of them. Both sides have a wealth of attacking talent, as well as defences that leak goals, highlighted by the fact that both teams have scored in each of their last 9 meetings. What is more, in their 10 games in all competitions this season, Real Madrid have kept only 2 clean sheets, while Barcelona have only managed 3 clean sheets in 10 games themselves. Both teams to score seems a certainty, and odds of 1.44 reflect that, but also give a decent return.
The 5-0 win for Barcelona in November 2010 aside, clasicos are generally tightly fought affairs, with 10 of the last 12 games either drawn or won by the odd goal. However, goals are scored freely just about every time, with 4 or more goals scored in 5 of the last 8 classics, and at least 3 scored in the other games. Odds of 2.25 for over 3.5 goals to be netted this time around could be worth a few quid.
In the more ambitious stakes, a Barcelona win after having gone behind seems like it could be a profitable choice. The Catalans have gained the joint most points from losing positions in La Liga this season, coming from behind to win 6 points. On top of this, they also survived a scare at home to Spartak Moscow in the Champions League, coming from 2-1 down to win. On the other side, Real Madrid have already thrown away 5 points from winning positions in La Liga games this season - drawing to Valencia and losing to Getafe after having led.
On top of all of these results, the Camp Nou leg of the Spanish Super Cup earlier this season saw Real go ahead before eventually losing 3-2. Real have scored first in five of the last six clasicos, and on three of those five occasions, they have gone on to lose the game. A bet on a comeback victory for Barcelona gives odds of 7.50 and going on past experience, could well pay off.
