Barcelona tackle Real Madrid at the Camp Nou by 7.45pm Nigerian time today.
Although Barcelona have already won the La Liga title, both teams will take on each other for the bragging rights.
Real Madrid will be hoping to redeem themselves from the last humiliating defeat suffered at the hands of their bitter rivals, who thrashed them 3-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 23.
In the game that has gradually grown to draw a global audience in the hundreds of millions, there have been some interesting facts along the way.
1. This will be the 238th El Clasico competitive game with the previous 237 editions ending with Real Madrid winning 95 games, Barcelona winning 93 games and both teams drawing 49 times.
2. There have been 33 switches of players between the Clasico rivals and some great names have played for both teams. The most famous names involved are Luis Figo, Ronaldo De Lima, Luis Enrique, Michael Laudrup, Bernd Schuster and Javier Saviola.
3. Barcelona suffered an 11-1 defeat against Real Madrid in 1943 in the competition that metamorphosed into the Copa del Rey. It’s the heaviest defeat of the rivalry.
4. Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi holds the record of most goals (25) and most assists (14) in El Clasico. He has 15 goals at Real Madrid’s ground and 10 at Camp Nou in matches against Barça’s biggest rivals: 17 in the league, two in the Champions League and six in the Spanish Super Cup. Messi has played a total of 37 Clásicos and opened his account back in the 2006/07 season with a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw.
5. Of the 38 games Lionel Messi has contested in total against Real Madrid, 18 have been wins, compared to just eight wins for Cristiano Ronaldo in 29 games against Barcelona.
6. Both teams are the most successful in Spain and among the most successful in world football. While Barcelona has 92 official trophies, Real Madrid has 89.
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