Barcelona host Real Madrid for first Clasico in Oct

MADRID: Defending Spanish champions Barcelona will host Real Madrid on October 28 in the first Clasico of the 2018/19 season, the Spanish football federation said Tuesday.

Real Madrid, who finished third in the league, 17 points behind champions Barcelona, will host the second meeting of the two Spanish giants on March 3, the federation added as it unveiled the season calendar.

The season opens on the weekend of August 18-19, and ends on May 18-19. The Spanish capital’s derbies will be at Real’s Santiago Bernabeu on September 30 and at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano on February 10. The Copa del Rey final will be held on May 25 at a yet-to-be determined stadium, the federation said.