The biggest game in Europe this weekend takes place in the Spanish capital as Real Madrid host Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu for the first Clasico of the season.
At the moment, Barca top La Liga on 30 points with Madrid in second on 27. They’ll go neck and neck should Los Blancos claim all three points on Saturday evening.
Here’s how the squads are shaping up.
Things were looking more positive for Madrid on the injury front up until midweek but Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo picked up problems against Dortmund and will miss this one.
David Alaba and Dani Carvajal remain out with serious knee injuries, though Brahim Diaz could return after a spell out.
Here is how Real Madrid lined up against Dortmund.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo remain out, but Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Fermin Lopez are all available again after recent absences.
Here’s how Barcelona lined up against Bayern Munich.
With Courtois out, Andriy Lunin will deputise in goal as he done last season when the Belgium was out with a knee injury. It is likely Jude Bellingham will move into a more advanced role behind Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe due to Rodrygo’s absence.
That could mean Eduardo Camavinga coming into midfield alongside Luka Modric and Federico Valverde.
Real Madrid (4-3-2-1): Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Modric, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius Jr, Mbappe
With De Jong now available, and after he was immediately given the captain’s armband after coming on against Bayern, it is likely he’ll come back into the starting XI, potentially in place of Marc Casado.
Raphinha will prove key after his fantastic hat-trick in the Champions League.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri, Olmo; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
