Weekend Tips: El Clasico, FA Cup and Serie A action

El Clasico is the feature match this weekend, but the FA Cup action could provide some good entertainment. And let's not forget the excitement of the Serie A.

El Clasico is always a spicy affair, and a new chapter will be added to an old Spanish classic on Sunday when Real Madrid host Barcelona.

Los Blancos are 14 points better off than Barca in La Liga, and they are also 10 points clear of Sevilla at the top of the table. They eased to a comfortable 3-0 away victory at Mallorca on Monday night and it would take a monumental loss of bottle for them not to be crowned champions from this point.

Madrid is all the rage in the betting here - 23/20 to win - and for Barcelona, the game will be about respect and gauging just how far behind their eternal rivals they are right now in terms of quality. Barca have been in Real Madrid’s shadow all season, and a big win at the Bernabeu would obviously give a massive confidence boost to the players. The Catalan giants are certainly improving under Xavi, but it’s hard to look beyond the La Liga leaders here, who have won their last four against Barca and anything above evens looks worth a bet under the circumstances.

The Nap - Real Madrid to beat Barcelona at 23/20 (bet365)


Chelsea is on a five-match winning streak and logic dictates they should be too good for Middlesbrough as the FA Cup quarter finals kick off this weekend. However, the oldest national football competition in the world has form when it comes to shocks, and Boro might be worth siding with to stun the Blues.

Chelsea have played a lot of football in recent weeks and could be jaded after Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Lille. The Teessiders have relished their role of underdogs this season and have already knocked out Manchester United and Tottenham.

The World and European champions came under fire earlier this week after asking the FA to omit fans from the Riverside and play this last eight clash behind closed doors. Common sense thankfully prevailed and the Championship side will be roared on by a full house this weekend. This is a free hit for Boro who are not under any pressure and they look a value pick at bigger than 6/1 to continue their FA Cup odyssey and dump Chelsea out.

Value Tip - Middlesbrough to win at 13/2 (Skybet)


Diogo Jota bagged his 18th goal of the season against Arsenal in midweek and if he gets the nod to start against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, he could be worth siding with to open the scoring.

Jota broke the deadlock on 54 minutes on Wednesday as the Reds closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point with an impressive 2-0 win at Arsenal, and Jurgen Klopp could reward him with another start against Forest.

Liverpool has some serious firepower up front but the Portuguese star - who has now scored 22 goals in 45 games for the Reds - often flies under the radar. He is a wonderfully gifted player and looks a shout at 3/1 to score first at City Ground.


First Goal Flutter - Jota to score first at 3/1 (Betfred/bet365)


Another huge derby takes place in Rome this weekend as Roma host Lazio. The two sides are only separated by one and two places in the Serie A table, so it should be close. Lazio won the reverse fixture 3-2 earlier in the season and look a fair price here at 7/4.

Ciro Immobile has once again been banging in the goals (he’s bagged 21 in 24 games) and the Italian international is a 19/5 chance to open the scoring.

The Biancocelesti have won their last two matches and kept clean sheets in both of those. Roma is in decent form themselves but Lazio look the call to claim a second win of the season against their biggest rivals and give their top four hopes a real boost.

The Euro Banker - Lazio to win at 7/4 (General)