El Clasico: LaLiga braces for first blockbuster contest of COVID-era with 100+ activations

Football is slowly returning to normalcy after the start-stop COVID-affected 2019-20 season. Entering Matchday 7 in LaLiga, fans are bracing for the first El Clasico of COVID-era, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 24. While fans will still not be allowed in the stadiums, the Spanish top flight has a trick up its sleeve as it looks to capitalise on the popularity of the most-watched club game in world football. 

Real Madrid and Barcelona will be meeting for the 181st time in the league, and LaLiga looks all set to make it a spectacle unlike any other fixture in football. On Thursday, LaLiga announced it is partnering with over 100 streaming partners to celebrate the El Clasico festival. This will include more than 100 El Clasico-themed live-action events organised across the world for public viewing that can accommodate up to 700 fans. Shanghai, Vietnam, Dubai, Nigeria, Kenya are just some of the places where watch parties will be organised for live streaming.

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In addition, the league will also be hosting the game in a series of drive-in cinema locations across Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia and Argentina. Last but not the least, the league will be providing a flagship viewing experience in popular fan areas in countries like India, the United States, Australia and others. Red carpets will be lined in seven iconic locations across the world for a flagship experience. In India, the same will be hosted at Red Fort, in New Delhi.

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All in all, the league is planning to provide an unreal El Clasico experience to more than 650 million fans across the world. The Real Madrid vs Barcelona match will also feature new broadcast graphics and statistics as the Spanish top-flight looks to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to enhance the viewing experience. To complete the well-rounded package, an online Fan Zone will be hosted on Saturday will offer fans a chance to win replica shirts of the club they support. Score Words LaLiga, an online mobile game, will also be launched. 

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El Clasico team news, preview

Real Madrid and Barcelona have both lost one and drawn another in their opening five and four matches, respectively. Barcelona are coming off a stellar 5-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Champions League, while Real lost 2-3 to Shakhtar Donetsk during the mid-week. Real are entering El Clasico on the back to two consecutive defeats.

Jordi Alba, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Samuel Umititi will be unavailable for the Catalan side while Zinedine Zidane will be missing the services of Daniel Carvajal, Eden Hazard and Martin Odegaard on Saturday. Captain Sergio Ramos could miss out too with a minor injury.

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(Image Credits: LaLiga Official Website)