Key events
There is major star power on both sides at the Bernabéu today in Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. Barcelona’s teenage sensation has been poking the bear a bit this week with comments on an online stream that Real Madrid “rob and complain”.
Xabi Alonso was asked about those comments in his pre-match press conference yesterday. “It’s an important match … important enough,” he said. “It has many ingredients for us to play well, for us to enjoy it. And that’s what excites us the most, the biggest incentive for tomorrow.”
Then he was asked about them again: “No, I’m not going to get into that. There have been a lot of statements from people in Barcelona and I can’t comment on them all. For us, the important thing is the pitch, what happens on the pitch. Where we’ve come from and what lies ahead. That’s what concerns me most and what we’ve been working on.”
Then he was asked about them a third time: “Are we going back to that? What I have in my head is that it’s going to be an intense and competitive match. We have to be prepared because there will be moments for everything. The players have to have the necessary adrenaline. I’m not thinking about other consequences.”
Sid has also been making the case for el clásico to still be the biggest game in club football and … well, it’s hard to argue with him.
In Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford, there is an Englishman apiece in the Real Madrid and Barcelona starting XIs – the first time that has happened in a clásico in La Liga, as Sid Lowe explains:
Captain Fede Valverde continues at right-back for Real Madrid, while Trent Alexander-Arnold – out since mid-September with a hamstring injury – is fit enough for a place on the bench.
Arda Guler is given the nod by Xabi Alonso ahead of Rodrygo and Franco Mastantuono in those attacking positions behind Kylian Mbappé.
Marcus Rashford is handed a start in his first clásico for Barcelona after scoring twice against Olympiakos in midweek.
Fermín López is also awarded for his hat-trick in the Champions League with a place in the XI.
Pau Cubarsí and Eric García are preferred to Ronald Araújo at centre-back.
Starting lineups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Valverde, Militão, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Guler, Bellingham, Vinícius; Mbappé.
Subs: Lunin, Carvajal, Alexander-Arnold, Mendy, Asencio, F García, Ceballos, Brahim, Mastantuono, Endrick, Rodrygo, G García.
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Koundé, Cubarsí, García, Baldé; Pedri, De Jong; Lamine Yamal, López, Rashford, Torres.
Subs: Kochen, Aller, Martín, Torrents, Araújo, D Fernández, Bernal, Casadó, Espart, Bardghji, T Fernández.
Preamble
Hello and welcome. Hoy jugamos. Real Madrid and Barcelona meet for the first time this season against a tense backdrop of political squabbles, player jibes and a failed attempt to move La Liga matches abroad. So, same as usual, eh?
The Santiago Bernabéu plays host to el clásico this afternoon, with the game kicking off at 4.15pm local time (3.15pm GMT). Xabi Alonso’s Madrid are top of the league, two points ahead of Hansi Flick’s defending champions in second. A home win today would have major ramifications for the title race.
There has been particular angst in the Spanish capital this week about La Liga’s failed efforts to take Villarreal v Barcelona to Miami in December, with Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois saying it would distort the competition. Lamine Yamal has stoked the flames a bit by telling the Twitch streamer Ibai Llanos that Real Madrid “rob and complain”. It’s sure to be feisty.
Team news is on the way. If you’ve got any skin in the game, feel free to send me an email with your thoughts as we go.
