Monday showdown for Setien's first El Clasico
Barcelona's trip to face Real Madrid in March could be key to deciding the LaLiga title race, and it will kick off at 9pm Sunday, local time - 7am Monday morning AEDT.
Quique Setien's first LaLiga Clasico as Barcelona boss has been handed a Sunday evening slot on 1 March and will be shown LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on beIN SPORTS on Monday 2 March at 7am.
The visit to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium could be a pivotal moment in the race for the LaLiga title, and the kick-off at 9pm local time should allow both sides to recover from midweek efforts in the Champions League.
Barcelona has an away clash against Napoli on Tuesday, February 25, and Madrid is at home to Manchester City the next night.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas made the Clasico announcement at an event in London, with the match timing picked to ensure maximum global exposure on television.
Barcelona leads Madrid at the top of LaLig, on goal difference, with both sides sitting on 40 points from 19 matches.
"It will be 8pm UK time and I think there aren't any other matches at this time so it will be a great slot. We want to be as visible as possible and we are getting there," Tebas said.
The season's first Clasico at Camp Nou was postponed from October because of concerns about civil unrest, stemming from pro-independence activists protesting against the jailing of nine Catalan politicians.
It eventually went ahead on 18 December and finished in a 0-0 draw.
The sacking of Ernesto Valverde and appointment of Setien - a former Atletico Madrid player - as his successor at Barcelona on Monday means there will be a different face in the opposite dugout to Zinedine Zidane for the second clash of Spain's biggest clubs in the 2019-2020 campaign.
