Sports

Golden State tied the best start to a season in NBA history by beating the Denver Nuggets 118-105 on Sunday, moving to 15-0.

“It’s a huge accomplishment coming off a championship and taking care of business 15 straight times to start the season,” Curry said. “You couldn’t ask for a better start, obviously.”

The Warriors have not avoided talking about their record-setting start, choosing to acknowledge it often as the wins piled up.

“Maybe two games ago it became a real conversation in the locker room,” Curry said. “Now that we’re at 15 let’s get 16.”

The Warriors matched the start of the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the ‘93-94 Houston Rockets. The Warriors can break the record when they played at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The Warriors are on the cusp of history without head coach Steve Kerr, who is recovering from two offseason back surgeries. Interim coach Luke Walton has kept in constant communication with Kerr and credits his system for the success.

“All we’re doing is following his leadership,” Walton said. “I’m just glad to not be letting my boss Steve down.”

Darrell Arthur, who started because forward Kenneth Faried was out with a sprained left ankle, led Denver with a season-high 21 points. Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton had 19 points each and Emmanuel Mudiay had 17 and eight assists for the Nuggets (6-8).

“Darrell was terrific,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He comes out 9-of-12, 21 points, eight rebounds. Darrell stepped up and had a heck of a game.”

Looking tired

The Nuggets wanted to be the team to stop the streak, but could not keep up with the reigning champions.

“Personally, I cared a lot,” Mudiay said. “I wanted to stop the streak just because I hate records being set on me or any of my teammates.”

Curry took just 16 shots for his season low in points, but the Warriors did not need the MVP to hand the Nuggets their third straight loss. He scored nine points in the third quarter when the Warriors extended their halftime lead to 91-79.

Elsewhere, Oklahoma City came back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter to edge Dallas, and Toronto clamped down early on the Los Angeles Clippers stars and had a comfortable win.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson scored 21 points for the Warriors, who surpassed the ‘57-58 Boston Celtics for the best start by a defending champion.

Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining in the second quarter and Golden State never trailed again. The reserves built up a sizeable lead and allowed Stephen Curry to rest the entire fourth quarter. Curry had 19 points, the first time this season he hasn’t reached 20.

Darrell Arthur had 21 points for Denver, which has lost three straight.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 31 points and 11 assists, hitting two key baskets in the final 63 seconds, to lead the Thunder past Dallas 117-114, halting the Mavericks’ six-game winning streak.

Westbrook broke a 113-113 tie with a jumper with 1:03 left. Zaza Pachulia made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to pull the Mavericks within a point before Westbrook’s 5.5m jumper with 24 seconds left capped the scoring.

Serge Ibaka had 16 points, nine rebounds and a key late blocked shot for Oklahoma City, which was without star forward Kevin Durant (injured hamstring) for the sixth straight game.

Deron Williams led Dallas with 20 points, but missed an 5.5m and had his layup attempt blocked by Ibaka on consecutive possessions, and Wesley Mathews’ last-second off-balance heave from 3-point range came nowhere close to the basket.

Toronto kept Blake Griffin and Chris Paul scoreless for the first 20 minutes, setting up a 91-80 win against the Clippers.

DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and DeMarre Carroll scored all his 21 points in the first half for the Raptors, who shot a poor 37 per cent from the field but made up for it by forcing 19 turnovers.

J.J. Redick scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which is 2-7 in its past nine game after starting the season 4-0. The only other time they were under a .500 winning percentage during Doc Rivers’ two-plus seasons as coach was after his first game on the job.

New Orleans’ Anthony Davis capped a 32-point, 19-rebound performance with a tiebreaking 3 in the final minute to lead the Pelicans past Phoenix 122-116.

Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Jarrett Jack scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Nets to a 111-101 win against Boston.

Portland beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth straight time, winning 107-93 on the road behind Damian Lillard’s 30 points and career-high 13 assists.

AMMAN — The 11th Ayla Red Sea Half Marathon kicks off on December 4 with the participation of local, regional and international runners.

“We have selected ‘Run for a Cause’ as a theme for this year’s event to highlight an important aspect of all Run Jordan events, that 20 per cent of the ticket sales go to charity,” Lina Al Kurd, deputy general manager of Run Jordan, said at a press conference on Sunday.

“This year, we have established cooperation agreements with two major NGO’s in the city of Aqaba namely: The Friends of Autism Society, which helps to support autistic children and their families in the southern region of the Kingdom; and the Bride of the South Orphan Society, which offers counselling and educational support for orphans,” she added. 

The race, under the patronage of HH Prince Firas, chairman of the board of Run Jordan, consists of three categories: 21km Half Marathon, 10km Fun Run and 4.2km Children’s Race. 

“The starting point for the 21km race will be the InterContinental Hotel and end at Revolution Square [Thawra Plaza]. The 10km and 4.2km events will start from Ayla towards Revolution Square,” Kurd pointed out.

According to Kurd, Run Jordan is expecting a major event in Aqaba.

“We are expecting runners from all ages to participate in the event as the weather usually is great in Aqaba and people like to visit Aqaba during the month of December. One of the main objectives of the event is to encourage tourism to Jordan and promote athletic cooperation across countries in the Middle East and the world,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sahel Dodin, CEO of Ayla, one of the main sponsors said: “Our support of this unique sports and health activity lines up with our corporate social responsibility objectives and strategies which aim to improve the health of our society and increase the level of health awareness.”

“As the main sponsor of this event for the third time in a row, we seek to build solid bridges between our company and the local community particularly in Aqaba,” he added.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to support sustainable development, public service, and events that promote Aqaba as a major destination for domestic and international tourism,” he stated.

Last year, Ra’fat Zboun was crowned champion of the 21km race of the men’s category after clocking 1h9m30s, followed by Ayman Suradi (1h11m33s) and Bashar Raheel (1h12m2s).

In the 21km women’s category Sudan’s Hanouya Hasballah came first in 1h16m 24s, followed by Razam Muqbel (1h36m48s) and Samah Najjar (1h38m6s).

In the 21km Wheelchair category, Ali Sawalmeh clocked 1h16m24s, followed by Bilal Bersameh (1h42m49s) and Raed Qasaymeh (2h12m29s).

In the 21km Visually Impaired category Suhail Nashash clocked 1h25m31s, followed by Abed Raouf (1h30m5s).

Registration is open for runners online at Run Jordan website (www.runjordan.com) and at its offices. Registration doors in Aqaba will also open at Aqaba City Centre between November 29 and December 3 from 10am until 6pm.

AMMAN — Week 8 of the 64th Jordan Professional Football League kicks off Tuesday after last week’s results drastically changed the standings apart from Shabab Urdun and titleholders Wihdat, who remained in the top two spots.

Shabab Urdun will play Kufrsoum after their 2-0 win over Jazira maintained their one point lead over Wihdat, who beat Sarih 2-1 and next play Ahli. Ahli beat Baqa’a 4-1 and jumped to third. Faisali are fourth after they beat That Ras 1-0 and next play Jazira, who are down at 10th after finishing runner-up last year.

Ramtha dropped from third to fifth after they held with Hussein Irbid 0-0. They will next play Baqa’a as Hussein Irbid play newcomers Asala, who are still winless.

League Standings 
(Last week’s position in parenthesis)

MADRID — Barcelona dealt a stinging blow to Real Madrid’s title hopes when Luis Suarez and Neymar continued their scintillating form to fire the champions to a stunning 4-0 victory in the La Liga “Clasico” on Saturday.

Suarez struck twice either side of goals from Neymar and captain Andres Iniesta as Barca humiliated their arch rivals with an imperious performance at the Bernabeu.

They surged six points clear at the top with 30 from 12 matches and ratcheted up the pressure on under-fire Real coach Rafa Benitez who had the luxury of fielding the trio of Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema but to little effect.

Barca’s dominance in the 231st meeting between the two teams, which prompted the angry Real fans to roundly whistle their own players and chant for President Florentino Perez to step down, was all the more remarkable considering coach Luis Enrique had started with a fit-again Lionel Messi on the bench.

The Argentina captain, who has been out for nearly two months with a knee injury, came on for Ivan Rakitic just before the hour and promptly sent Suarez clear to score the European champions’ fourth.

An utterly dominant Barca could easily have added to their tally in the closing stages and Real’s humiliation was complete when substitute Isco was shown a straight red card for a wild lunge at Neymar six minutes from time.

“We played what was quite honestly a complete match in every sense,” Iniesta, who was given an ovation by the home fans when he was substituted late on, told Spanish television.

“There is a long way to go, it’s not decisive at all but we are going away very, very satisfied,” added the Spain playmaker.

A giant French flag was unfurled in the stands and the Marseillaise played during a minute’s silence before kickoff to honour the victims of the Paris attacks and security was tight for the clash in the Spanish capital.

In an ominous sign for the home side, Barca had the first clear chance of the game when Suarez laid the ball off to Neymar in the seventh minute but the Brazil forward fired wildly over.

Sergi Roberto burst through the middle and played Suarez in on the right of the penalty area to open the scoring in the 11th minute with a clinical finish.

James Rodriguez had Real’s only dangerous shot of the first half in the 28th minute before Iniesta slipped a pass through for Neymar to make it 2-0 five minutes before the break.

Marcelo had to clear a Suarez effort off the line moments before halftime after brilliant work from Neymar and as the players trooped off, a cacophony of whistles rang out around the stadium mixed with chants for Perez to go.

Full blast

Real came out fighting after the break and Marcelo and Rodriguez each went close before Neymar sent a backheel into Iniesta’s path in the 53rd minute and he hammered the ball past Keylor Navas into the top corner.

Isco came on for Rodriguez shortly after and initially gave Real some much-needed zip in attack, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema largely anonymous.

Suarez’s second effort in the 74th minute was the 20th he and Neymar have scored between them out of Barca’s last 21 goals in La Liga.

After the whistle, thousands of Real fans waved anything white they could get their hands on in the traditional sign of discontent with the board of directors, while the music came on full blast to drown out any more embarrassing chants.

Chasing a sixth La Liga title in eight years, Barca have 30 points, with Real, who lost 3-2 at Sevilla in their previous outing, on 24.

Atletico Madrid can climb back to within four points of Barca and leapfrog Real into second with a win at promoted Real Betis on Sunday.

Valencia missed a chance to move above Celta Vigo into fourth when they lost the lead in a 1-1 draw at home to Las Palmas as Celta lost 2-0 at Galician rivals Deportivo La Coruna. Valencia have 19 points while Celta remain on 21.

Goals from Imanol Agirretxe and Xabi Prieto gave Real Sociedad coach Eusebio Sacristan a winning start in a 2-0 success at home to stuttering Sevilla.

CLEVELAND — Cleveland beat Atlanta 109-97 on Saturday in a reprise of last season’s NBA Eastern Conference finals, and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected for making contact with an official.

The Cavaliers took control midway through the first quarter and quickly built a double-digit lead en route to a victory that built their lead in the Central Division while dropping the Hawks out of top spot in the Southeast.

Among other games, San Antonio continued their strong home form by beating Memphis and New York ended their long run of losses to Houston by beating the slumping Rockets.

Cleveland’s Kevin Love scored a season-high 25 points and LeBron James added 19 in the first game against Atlanta since the Cavaliers swept the Hawks in the East finals last season.

Hawks coach Budenholzer was given a technical for arguing a call in the second quarter, and stepped onto the floor where he bumped referee Ben Taylor and was ejected.

San Antonio made it six straight home wins by downing Memphis 92-82, with Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker scoring 19 and 18 points respectively.

After conceding the opening score of the game, the Spurs led throughout.

Neither team had their starting power forward. LaMarcus Aldridge was a late scratch with a sprained left ankle, his first missed game with San Antonio. Memphis’ Zach Randolph was in uniform, but did not play in his second straight game due to right knee soreness.

New York ended a run of 11 consecutive losses to Houston — and ten straight defeats in the Texan city — with a 107-102 victory.

Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks who have eight wins before the end of November, whereas last season they didn’t get their eighth win until late January.

James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists for the Rockets, who have lost six of seven.

Detroit’s Marcus Morris missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and that allowed Washington to hang on for a 97-95 road victory.

The Wizards had the ball and a two-point lead with 9.2 seconds left, but Otto Porter was called for a five-second violation on the inbound attempt. That gave Detroit a last chance, but Morris missed.

Nene scored 18 points and Porter added 17 for Washington, which got 51 points from bench players compared to just 15 by Detroit’s reserves.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 20 points and nine assists.

Indiana made it five wins from six by routing Milwaukee 123-86, with C.J. Miles scoring a season-high 21 points for the Pacers.

Sacramento went on a 22-2 scoring run late in the third quarter to take over the game and set up a 97-91 win at Orlando, with DeMarcus Cousins having 29 points and 12 rebounds.

Miami survived a major scare from winless Philadelphia, needing a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter to escape with a 96-91 victory against a 76ers team that dropped to 0-14 and which has lost 24 straight dating back to last season.

OAKLAND, California — The Golden State Warriors moved within one victory of matching the best start in NBA history by beating Chicago 106-94 on Friday and improving to 14-0.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points for the Warriors, who will match the record with victory at Denver on Sunday. The Nuggets blew a 17-point lead on their home court and lost to Phoenix.

Dallas extended their winning streak to six by beating Utah, and closed within half a game of Southwest Division leader San Antonio.

The Jazz missed a chance to go top of the Northwest Division and remained half a game behind Oklahoma City, which were beaten at home by New York.

Golden State’s Harrison Barnes added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors in a game featuring 18 lead changes and 17 ties.

The league’s last undefeated team ran its franchise-record home winning streak to 26 games by beating Chicago; the last visiting team to win at Oracle Arena during the regular season, back in January.

Golden State equalled the 1957-58 Celtics as the only defending champions to win their initial 14 games.

Jimmy Butler had 28 points for the Bulls.

Dallas’ Deron Williams scored a season-high 23 points against his old team as the Mavericks beat Utah 102-93.

Dirk Nowitzki had 19 for Dallas, going 8 of 12 from the field and making all three of his 3-point attempts.

Gordon Hayward scored 22 points for the Jazz.

New York hung on for a 93-90 win against fast-finishing Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters’ potential tying shot rattled out at the buzzer.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Arron Afflalo added 14 points for the Knicks.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 34 points, but the NBA’s No. 3 scorer made just 11 of 29 shots and went 2 of 10 on 3-pointers.

Phoenix’s Brandon Knight scored a career-high 38 points as the Suns overran Denver and won 114-107.

The Suns trailed most of the game, but went ahead early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run

Knight scored 17 points in the fourth to lead the comeback, while Eric Bledsoe finished with 22.

Rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay had a career-high 26 points for the Nuggets.

Memphis notched a fourth straight win by defeating struggling Houston 96-84.

Mike Conley scored 26 points, while Marc Gasol had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Grizzlies.

James Harden led the Rockets with 22 points, but missed six of his seven shots from beyond the arc. The Rockets have lost five of their past six, going 1-1 since Kevin McHale was fired and J.B. Bickerstaff took over as interim coach.

Detroit ground out a 96-86 victory at Minnesota, which briefly threatened a fourth-quarter rally, but remained winless at home.

Andre Drummond had 21 points and 11 rebounds while Marcus Morris contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons.

Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who have a 0-6 record on home court this season.

New Orleans recorded only its second victory of the season by defeating San Antonio 104-90, with Anthony Davis having 20 points and 18 rebounds in his return from a sore shoulder.

Portland ended a seven-game losing skid by downing the Los Angeles Clippers 102-91, with Damian Lillard scoring 27 points, including three late 3-pointers.

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry had 25 points to lead the Raptors past the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91, ending a run of three losses.

Boston shot 62 per cent in the first half and ran away from Brooklyn in the second quarter when they went 18 for 21 from the field to set up a 120-95 win.

Charlotte swept past Philadelphia 113-88 to drop the 76ers to 0-13 and extend their losing streak over this season and last to 23 games.

GENEVA — FIFA’s ethics committee has asked for sanctions against Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini after finishing investigations into their alleged financial wrongdoing.

FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Platini now face bans of several years at full hearings before FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert, likely in December.

The ethics court investigation chamber said Saturday it will not reveal what sanctions it requested due to “privacy rights and the presumption of innocence”.

“The adjudicatory chamber will study the reports carefully and decide in due course about whether to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings,” the separate judging chamber said in a statement.

The case centres on a $2 million payment of FIFA money Blatter approved for Platini in 2011 — three months before a FIFA presidential election — as backdated salary. Platini was employed by Blatter as a presidential adviser from 1998-2002.

Both men deny wrongdoing, though they acknowledge there was no written contract.

Blatter and Platini, whose campaign for the FIFA presidency is stalled by his legal troubles, were suspended by the ethics committee on October 8 pending the full verdicts.

Both are challenging their interim 90-day bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is expected to fast-track their cases.

The full charges of unethical conduct against Blatter and Platini could include conflicts of interest.

Both were members of the FIFA executive committee in 2011 when the payment was arranged without their colleagues apparently knowing of the deal.

FIFA audit panel chairman Domenico Scala also suggested that accounts may have been falsified if the $2 million allegedly owed to Platini was not booked in the financial reports from 2002 to 2011.

Recently judged FIFA ethics cases suggest Blatter and Platini face bans of at least seven years.

Former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon of South Korea was banned for six years last month for a range of charges which did not include financial corruption. His misconduct cited by the ethics committee included failing to cooperate with investigators and breach of FIFA confidentiality rules.

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the former Chile federation president, was banned for seven years in July in a case that focused on his work leading technical inspections of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidders.

Blatter and Platini can appeal any ethics committee sanctions to the FIFA appeals committee and CAS.

Both want their cases finally resolved ahead of the FIFA election on February 26.

Blatter has said he wants to leave FIFA with a dignified exit after 40 years by hosting the election congress in Zurich.

Platini’s eligibility as a candidate to succeed his former mentor Blatter is dependent on not being banned and passing an integrity check which is on hold during the ethics proceedings.

Switzerland’s attorney general has also opened criminal proceedings against Blatter for suspected criminal mismanagement of FIFA money, over Platini’s $2 million and the undervalued sale of Caribbean TV rights for the World Cup.

Swiss federal authorities are treating Platini  as “between a witness and an accused person”.

HOUSTON — James Harden scored 45 points, including all nine for Houston in overtime, as the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-103 on Wednesday after firing coach Kevin McHale earlier in the day.

Corey Brewer made an off-balance 3-pointer to force overtime and Harden took over from there, finishing with 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals as the Rockets capped an emotional day at the Toyota Centre.

It almost ended with a fifth straight loss before Brewer made his shot with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 99.

Just hours after McHale was fired, the Rockets played much of the game with sloppy mistakes and dreadful shooting. Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, son of longtime NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff, served in his first game as head coach.

The Blazers dropped their seventh straight, their worst losing streak since closing 2012-13 on a 13-game skid. Damian Lillard led Portland with 23 points.

San Antonio’s Tony Parker scored a season-high 25 points as the Spurs never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 109-98 for their sixth straight victory.

Kawhi Leonard added 20 points, Tim Duncan had 12 and LaMarcus Aldridge 11 for the Spurs, undefeated at home after five games. Patty Mills was 3 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring a season-high 17 points.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points for Dallas and Wesley Matthews had 18 as the Mavericks erased an 18-point, first-half deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics Boston 106-102 for their fifth consecutive win.

Zaza Pachulia had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks. Deron Williams added 16 points, including consecutive key baskets.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 19 points.

In Philadelphia, Paul George scored 34 points and C.J. Miles added 20 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 112-85 rout of the winless 76ers.

T.J. McConnell scored 16 points for Philadelphia, which dropped to 0-12 while setting a season high with 31 turnovers.

The 76ers are within five losses of matching last season’s franchise-worst start and six defeats from tying the NBA record, set by the 2009 Nets, for longest losing streak to begin a season. Philadelphia opens a six-game road trip on Friday in Charlotte.

It was the 76ers’ 22nd loss in a row dating to last season, four from equalling the NBA record they already share with Cleveland.

The Chicago Bulls downed the Phoenix Suns 103-97 for their fourth victory after Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 32 points.

Pau Gasol added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Kirk Hinrich scored 14 as former Phoenix guard Aaron Brooks had 12 points as Chicago ended the Suns’ three-game winning streak.

Bulls guard Derrick Rose sat out with a sore left ankle.

In other games, Paul Millsap scored 23 points as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Sacramento Kings 103-97, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-103, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-111, the Orlando Magic had a 104-101 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz downed the Toronto Raptors 93-89.

MADRID — The biggest game of the year has arrived in Spain, filled with doubts over the presence of one of its biggest stars and surrounded by security concerns prompted by the attacks in Paris.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will play at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday in the first clasico of the season.

Authorities are promising unprecedented security measures because of what happened in France last week, but it remains unclear whether Barcelona’s Lionel Messi will be fit to play following a long injury layoff.

Messi returned to practice this week, nearly two months after tearing a ligament in his left knee, but the club is yet to say whether he will be available.

“Messi can change the game and he’s done incredible things in previous clasicos,” Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said. “But it depends on the doctors and what they think is best for him. He has looked good while training with us over the last few days but it’s an injury that could take a sudden turn for the worse.”

Messi is the all-time leading scorer in the clasico with 21. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 15 goals, is guaranteed to start for Madrid.

Here are other things to watch for:

Increased security

Spanish authorities have declared the game a high-risk event and announced they will double the police presence at the Bernabeu.

Nearly 1,500 private security agents will be working during the game, and at least 1,000 national police officers.

Security zones will be implemented outside the stadium, keeping those without tickets or credentials away from the 81,000-capacity venue.

Fighting for the lead

Barcelona have a three-point lead over Real Madrid going into the match, but a loss will drop the Catalan club to second in the standings on goal difference.

Madrid had been in front until its first loss of the season at Sevilla two weeks ago.

“I don’t think we’ll have won the league if we go six points ahead of them,” Suarez said. “It’s still too early to say who is going to win it. The league is going to be a long one, and Atletico [Madrid] will be up there, too, so this game won’t decide anything.”

Third-place Atletico, which play at Real Betis on Sunday, are one point behind Madrid, and four behind Barcelona.

Attacking power

Suarez and Neymar have been carrying the load for Barcelona in Messi’s absence. The South American duo have 20 of the team’s 23 goals since Messi was injured.

Neymar scored five in the last three Barcelona games, while Suarez found the net three times.

Ronaldo has scored in each of the last three clasicos and scored at least one in a clasico in the last five seasons.

Karim Benzema has also done well against Barcelona in recent years, especially when at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he’s scored in the last four clasicos.

Real Madrid arrive with the league’s best attack with 26 goals, one more than Barcelona.

Injury woes

Madrid should have back goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who has missed action since the beginning of the month because of a muscle injury.

Sergio Ramos, who has been nursing a shoulder injury, also should be fit. The defender has yet to miss a clasico, having started in all 20 of them in his career with Madrid.

Benzema was not 100 per cent guaranteed to play after coming off a long layoff because of an injury and a sex tape controversy that led him to be briefly detained in France.

It remained unclear whether Barcelona would be able to count on midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who has been recovering from a muscle injury.

Worldwide attention

The Spanish league said the clasico will be broadcast on large screens in Dubai, Shanghai, Miami, and a Spanish military base in Lebanon. The league organised the events abroad as part of its push to expand the brand internationally.

ZURICH — Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter and European soccer chief Michel Platini have lost their appeals against provisional 90-days bans by the global football body's ethics committee, FIFA said on Wednesday.

Blatter and Platini, who had been favourite to take over in February's FIFA presidential election, were suspended on October 8, engulfed by a deepening corruption scandal as the sport faces criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States.

The decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee, which rejected the appeals "in full", was a further blow to Frenchman Platini's hopes of standing on February 26 because the electoral committee has said his registration will not be processed while he is suspended.

The former France captain and coach, who is not allowed to campaign or engage in any football-related activities until his suspension is lifted, said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the next step in the process.

"Michel Platini has full confidence that the CAS will restore all his rights," said a statement issued by his spokesman. "Meanwhile, he remains a composed and determined candidate for the FIFA presidency.

"The decision comes as no surprise. It was expected by Michel Platini and his lawyers," added the statement. "It confirms that FIFA, through its internal bodies, is conducting a one-sided, unfair and biased investigation against Michel Platini, repeatedly violating his right to defend himself.

"Despite his repeated requests, at no time has Michel Platini been able to put his case to the judges, which is simply outrageous."

Review case

If Platini wins his appeal at the CAS, the electoral committee has said it would review his case but, even then, there is no guarantee that he would be able to stand in the election as it would depend on the timing.

Buffeted by a series of scandals over the last few years, FIFA was thrown into turmoil in May by the US indictments of 14 football officials, including two FIFA vice-presidents and sports marketing executives for alleged corruption.

Blatter, who has been at the head of FIFA since 1998, also faces criminal investigation in Switzerland over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from FIFA to Platini. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

The payment was made in 2011 for work which Platini had completed nine years earlier, the Swiss attorney-general's office has said, adding Platini was considered to be "between a witness and an accused person".

FIFA's Ethics Committee has said it hopes to have completed the full investigation into Blatter and Platini in time for a final decision to be made on their cases by the end of their 90-day suspension period.

Both men could then face much longer bans if found guilty of contravening FIFA's code of ethics which, in Platini's case, would mean he also loses his position as UEFA president.

Five candidates have been accepted for the presidential election and the job of rebuilding the sport's beleaguered governing body.

They are HRH Prince Ali, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino of Switzerland and South Africa businessman Tokyo Sexwale.

Infantino entered the race a day before the deadline in late October and is expected to withdraw if Platini is allowed back in.