Why The El Clasico Is A 12 PM (GMT) Kick-Off

12 pm (GMT) kick-off?!

Real Madrid entertain Barcelona at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon in a early kick-off.

The El Clasico is normally contested in the evening with a 8 pm (GMT), or even a 5 pm (GMT) kick-off.

But the first La Liga El Clasico meeting of the 2017/18 campaign goes down in the afternoon - 1 pm, local time.

While it's an afternoon kick-off around Europe, In Asia, it'll be 7 pm across countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

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And this is a ploy by the Spanish league to drive it's audience in this specific region, while harbouring ambitions of becoming the worlds most popular football league.

Last season, the El Clasico kicked-off at 2:45 am in those two Asian countries.

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Meanwhile, Barcelona will be seeking to hold onto their unbeaten league start after recording 13 wins and three draws from their 16 league fixtures.

Following their excellent league form, Barcelona are six points ahead of second place Atletico Madrid.

Defending Spanish champions Real Madrid are 11 points behind the league leaders prior to the juggernaut clash.

British & Irish folks, as well as you European guys, do you like the early kick-off? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

(H/T Mirror)

Topics: Football News, El Clasico, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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