How to watch El Clasico: live stream Barcelona vs Real Madrid online anywhere on Earth

The ghosts of Lionel Messi will be omnipresent as Barcelona face Real Madrid for the first time since allowing their greatest ever player to leave.

Barca are searching for a new saviour as they strive to slow their arch-rivals' progress. With Karim Benzema scoring and creating goals for fun, Real Madrid have a chance to go level on points with league leaders Real Sociedad, who face Atletico Madrid later.

It's one of the most glamorous games in football, and we've got all the info on how to live stream El Clasico no matter where you are in the world with our Barcelona vs Real Madrid watching guide below. If you're abroad and can't access your preferred coverage, you can always use a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions.

What is the El Clasico time and date?

El Clasico is being played at Camp Nou in the neighbourhood of Les Corts, in Barcelona.

The game kicks off at 4.15pm CEST local time on Sunday, October 24, which makes it a 3.15pm BST kick-off in the UK, and a 10.15am ET / 7.15am ET start in the US. It'll be a very late night or early morning for football fans in Australia, with the game starting at 1.15am AEDT on Sunday night/Monday morning.

How to live stream El Clasico if you're abroad

If you're out of the country for this weekend's El Clasico action, you can still get access to a live stream - simply drop a shoulder and use the best VPN around to get past those geo-restrictions. 

With most domestic broadcasters locking streaming services to their country, you may hit a wall when it comes to accessing the likes of Premier Sports, LaLiga TV or beIN Sports when overseas. However, by getting yourself a handy streaming VPN, you can hop on a server within the US or UK (or anywhere else for that matter depending on where your online content is geo-restricted to), and this will switch your IP address to make it appear as if you're browsing right from the comfort of your own home.

ExpressVPN is the champ of VPN providers with its excellent speed, plethora of security features, and, of course, its ability to unlock geo-restricted content and get us the best seat in the house for El Clasico.

Better still, it offers new customers a 30-day money back guarantee, allowing you to give it a shot and find out if it's actually the service for you, before you part with your hard-earned dollar. Better still, right now you can save 49% and receive an additional 3 months with your plan for free.

- Try out ExpressVPN 100% risk free to stream El Clasico

• New to VPN? Find out how to use one to unblock geo-restrictions

How to watch El Clasico: live stream Barcelona vs Real Madrid in the UK

Football fans in the UK can watch El Clasico on Premier Sports. 

Kick-off is scheduled for 3.15pm BST on Sunday afternoon, and Premier Sports' build-up starts bright and early at 1pm.

A subscription costs £12.99 per month, with the service available on Sky or Virgin Media - or online-only.

If you've signed up to Premier Sports but won't be in the country for El Clasico, using a VPN will allow you to watch Barcelona vs Real Madrid just as you would if you were at home.

How to live stream El Clasico anywhere else in the world

Regardless of where you're tuning in from, there's an El Clasico live stream for you that'll let you catch every pass, dribble and shot - and all of the dark arts too.

The streaming options are really straightforward, with the Barcelona vs Real Madrid game being shown on $6.99 per month streaming service ESPN Plus in the US, with the game set to get underway at 10.15am ET / 7.15am PT.

Those timings also apply in Canada, where you can tune in on TSN and via its TSN Direct streaming service, which costs $19.99 per month.

Fans based in Australia can watch El Clasico at 1.15am AEST on Sunday night/Monday morning either on beIN Sports, which is available through Foxtel, or via slick streaming service Kayo Sports. Kayo price plans start from a super cheap AUD$25 a month, but if you're new to the service you can take advantage of a FREE Kayo Sports trial.

How to use a VPN to unblock any restrictions

If you're outside of your preferred broadcaster's boundaries, you can use a VPN to unblock any geo-restrictions and watch an El Clasico live stream as if you were right at home. Here's our step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

• VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
• As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
• Most VPNs offer a list of locations where its servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
• When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for Mac, VPN for Android smartphones, an iPad VPN, and even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
• Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means for using a VPN, sign-up and install it. 
• To live stream El Clasico, all you need to do is select a UK server from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over those geo-restrictions with the likes of Premier Sports opening its online gates to you.
• We also want to ensure your money is well spent, so we would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money back guarantee.