Saturday’s El Clasico means more as Barcelona and Real Madrid battle in the Copa del Rey final.
The pregame narrative: Barcelona has dominated this fixture recently, but is missing its top scorer with Robert Lewandowski sidelined. The Catalans are still expected to perform, and I’m backing them to do so. Prop bets on Kylian Mbappe and Dani Olmo round out this +320 wager.
Check out my Barcelona vs. Real Madrid SGP predictions for April 26.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid predictions
Parlay: Barcelona to win or tie | Mbappe over 1.5 SOT | Olmo over 0.5 shots (+320)
Barcelona to win or tie (-265): Losing Lewandowski hurts, and there’s no sugar-coating that. The Polish striker has scored 40 goals across all competitions for Barcelona this season, including three against Real Madrid.
But Barcelona won those games by such a wide margin (4-0, 5-2) that I can see it at least forcing a draw through 90 minutes and added time.
The Catalans have allowed the third-fewest xG in La Liga this season, per FotMob, while owning the highest possession rate (68.6%).
Lewandowski might not be there to finish chances, but a midfield consisting of Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong should still dictate play.
Madrid is also not in top form, winning just three of its last seven games and failing to score two goals in six straight.
I expect Barcelona to secure a result with a European treble in play.
Go to full Copa del Rey betting markets
Copa del Rey SGP legs
Mbappe over 1.5 SOT (+130): Mbappe suffered an injury in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Arsenal, which forced him to miss a pair of league games.
That was seemingly precautionary, as the French national has travelled to Seville and is expected in Saturday’s starting lineup.
And if he’s playing, there are plenty of reasons to love this wager:
- Mbappe has cleared this line in 13 of his last 20 games for Madrid
- He has gone over this mark in both games against Barcelona this season, logging three and two SOTs, respectively.
- Mbappe leads La Liga with 2.50 SOT per 90, per FotMob.
Olmo over 0.5 shots (-590): Olmo has been a super-sub for Flick at points this season, and now he’ll likely be thrust into a starting role.
That shouldn’t matter to the Spanish forward, who has produced as a member of the starting XI and coming off the bench.
Olmo has scored in three straight La Liga games for Barcelona, twice as a sub and once as a starter. And I’m not asking him to score, or even record a shot on target here.
All I need out of Olmo is a shot attempt, which is something he’s done in 10 of his last 11 games for club and country (excluding a UCL game vs. BVB Dortmund where he played five minutes).
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid predictions made at 5:00 p.m. on 04/25/25.