Three key stats ahead of Barcelona vs Real Madrid | La Liga | OneFootball

It is only a matter of hours before FC Barcelona take on Real Madrid at Camp Nou. The Catalans are eyeing three consecutive victories against their arch-rivals this calendar year, following wins in Copa Del Rey and Supercopa Espana.

It is also a special game for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who could match Victor Valdes’ record for registering the most number of clean sheets in El Clasico.

The German, who received praise from his great counterpart Thibaut Courtois heading into this game, currently has six clean sheets in El Clasico to his name. Another this evening could see him level Valdes’ record of seven. Ter Stegen, though, will achieve this feat by playing eight fewer matches.

Speaking of clean sheets, Barcelona have recorded a whopping eight wins with a clean sheet against Real Madrid away from home. To put this into perspective, Real Madrid have won none.

This is not a good reading for the visitors, who have lost three of their last four matches against Barcelona, including a 4-0 defeat at Santiago Bernabeu about a year ago.

Meanwhile, Barça youngster Alejandro Balde has contributed to 15 clean sheets in La Liga this season. No other defender has contributed to more clean sheets in Europe’s top five leagues this season, which is a testament to Barcelona’s overall defensive work more than Balde’s own contributions.

That defence will be put to the test once again this evening as Real Madrid seek retribution. The offensive unit of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior are likely to cause more trouble for the Catalan backline, but it will be interesting to see whether or not they will be successful in breaching the lines.