The first El Clasico of the season is here, and simply put, it’s a match that never needs any additional preview hype. No real need for any lead-in preamble, you can just cut to the requisite info, and we have a ton of it here. Let’s get you up to speed on the latest surrounding the injury situations of Dean Huijsen, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Ceballos and more.
Happy El Clasico weekend everybody!
El Clasico FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Oct. 26 5:15 PM, El Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Team News: FC Barcelona Real Madrid
Predicted Starting XIs for Both Sides: go here
Google’s Result Probability: FC Barcelona win 47% Draw 23% Real Madrid win 30%
La Liga Standing, Form: FC Barcelona 2nd, 22 pts WWWLW Real Madrid 1st, 24 pts, WWLWW
Real Madrid Team News
Carvajal and Trent are doubts here, as neither one featured in the midweek Champions League win over Juventus. This occurred despite their having returned to full training in the lead-up to Juve.
As for Huijsen, he missed the October internationals, as well as Madrid’s last La Liga fixture, with a calf strain. Still, he’s reportedly in contention to return here.
And then with Ceballos, he needs to pass a late fitness test in order to make the squad here. He’s considered a doubt while Raul Ascencio is reportedly fine.
His early exit in midweek was only due to cramping, not an injury.
And then finally, David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger remain sidelined as long-term injury absentees, and they’ll miss the big showdown.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter