Real Madrid - Barcelona. Primera Division (Spain). 23/12/17. Cards

Today, the expert team of Corner-stats.com analyzes the grand Spanish derby between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Let's look closer at the statistics of the teams and the referee of the match.
So, the average total cards in the H2H matches is 7.05 points by 1+2 (1 point for yellow card + 2 points for red one), what speaks in slight favor of total over 7.0. But in this match we drew attention to other factors that will play a decisive role:
1. The referee of the match.
2. Similar matches.
Let's talk about the referee of the match: José María Sánchez Martínez (Spain). Of course, if teams play very dirty, a referee will always give a lot of cards. But there are grands, and they are more likely not to play dirty, and here the skill of a referee comes out - to hold the thread of a match and calm players.
Let's see how Martinez judged the team in H2H matches. Most recently, on 16/08/2017, he judged the match for the Super Cup between Real Madrid and Barcelona and showed in this match only 2 yellow cards. But this is a very high-level match and the referee clearly kept the game thread.

Now consider how Martinez judged matches with each of the teams (tab "Referee" on the page of the match):
- all 9 matches in the 2015-2017 seasons with the participation of Madrid Real ran out with a total cards points of 6 or less (1+2). The average total cards points (1+2) is 3.78;
- 7 of the 8 matches in the 2015-2017 seasons with the participation of Barcelona ended with a total cards points of 6 or less (1+2).. The average total cards points (1+2) is 4.75.

Now we answer the question "Do Martinez often show a red card?"
And here the answer is simple: 1 red card in the last 20 matches in the Spanish Primera league (you can find this information in the screenshot below or on Corner-stats.com site). It is logical to assume that he does not like to kick players off the floor, removing the tension in the match with words and remarks.

Also, it should be noted that, for example, in the squad of Real there is no Pepe, who rarely left the field without a card.
 

Consider now the second factor: similar matches (tab "Cards" -> "Similar matches").
Here the statistics are as follows:
• 5 of the 5 home games of Real Madrid with teams similar to Barcelona ended with a total cards points under 7
 
• 7 out of 8 away matches of Barcelona with teams similar to Real Madrid ended with a total cards points under 7

The team of Corner-stats.com believes that Martinez will keep the thread of the game in this derby and bets on Asian total cards (1+2)  under 7 at 1.83 odds at Bet365.