Roberto Carlos has given his prediction for Sunday's El Clasico clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona at Camp Nou.
The two arch-rivals meet at Barca's stomping ground and it will be Jose Mourinho's first Clasico since returning to Madrid as manager. His troops sit third in the La Liga table having suffered defeats to Real Betis and Atletico Madrid.
Mourinho's men have returned to form following the Atleti loss, beating Villarreal and Sevilla. They come up against a Barca side who have made a perfect start to their domestic campaign, sitting above Sunday's opponents by six points after nine games.
Roberto Carlos backs Real Madrid to beat Barcelona
While Barca have been unbeatable thus far in La Liga, they fell to defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Hansi Flick's Catalans were deservedly beaten in a chaotic 4-2 thriller.
Carlos believes that loss will have a knock-on effect and come to Madrid's advantage. The iconic Brazilian exclusively told Striver that he's backing an away win as a result of Flick's side enduring a disappointing night at the Parc des Princes.
Madrid's last victory away to Barca came back in October 2023 when Jude Bellingham's brace secured a 2-1 win. Mourinho will be eager for a repeat of this as he looks to try and close the gap on the league leaders.
Flick will have been concerned with what he saw in Paris midweek as his side had equalised in the 79th minute through Lamine Yamal. They appeared to run out of energy and the Parisians pounced, exposing a vulnerable backline with goals from Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz in the final 10 minutes.
Madrid, meanwhile, cruised to a 4-1 win over Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig on Wednesday night. Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Kylian Mbappe and Yan Diomande were all on target at the Estadio Bernabeu.
Jose Mourinho on Barcelona stumbling after PSG loss
Barca are viewed as slight favourites given they have won all nine of their opening La Liga games. The defeat to PSG has just raised one or two questions over Flick's players' mindsets heading into El Clasico.
Carlos knows all about needing to be mentally strong for the biggest game in Spanish football. He played in the fixture 25 times.
Mourinho doesn't think PSG's win over Barca will take its toll on Flick's side and hand Madrid an advantage in El Clasico. He told reporters ahead of the game (via Madrid Xtra):
"I don’t believe that losing one match will change their state of mind or their confidence. It wouldn’t have changed mine either, had we lost 1–4 to Leipzig.”
Mourinho's record against Barca during his managerial career is an interesting one. He's overseen eight wins, 10 defeats in 27 games and he relishes such high-profile games.
