The first of the two annual El Clasico match-ups transpires this Sunday, and Real Madrid will enter it looking up at their arch-rivals. Los Blancos almost always enter this match sitting in first or second place, but this time, they’re actually in third place. Manager Jose Mourinho will have to contend with a number of key absentees as well, including Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. who is suspended. It’s a multi-match ban for Vini, and how he earned that punishment has already been covered enough already.
El Clasico FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Oct. 25, 9PM locally, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Team News: FC Barcelona Real Madrid
La Liga Standing: FC Barcelona 1st, 27 pts Real Madrid 3rd, 21 pts
Overall Series History: Real Madrid wins 106 FC Barcelona wins 106 Draws 52
Fun Fact: Not only are the two teams level on total all-time wins in the series, but the number of goals scored is remarkably close too: Real Madrid leads 444-441.
Odds: Real Madrid wins +290 FC Barcelona wins -155 Draw 450
Real Madrid Team News
As for the club’s injury situation, Ferland Mendy, Raul Asencio and of course Rodrygo, remain sidelined. However, Eder Militao has recently returned to fitness. As the team news for them is a little bit thin for this one, we decided to throw in a predicted starting XI here. After all, we want you to get your money’s worth for having clicked over here.
The first team is pretty straight-forward actually, with the only true debate being in central midfield.
We omitted both Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga, in favor of Bernardo Silva.
Real Madrid Predicted XI at FC Barcelona
Thibaut Courtois; Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella; Bernardo Silva, Aurelien Tchouameni; Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, Yan Diomande; Kylian Mbappe
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, Ratings and RG. 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 and the Washington Post.