It is the El Clasico weekend and all the eyes of European soccer fans turned towards Spain for the biggest club fixture in the world. This time around it is a top-of-the-table clash between the arch-rivals. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are only separated by a single point in the league.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid will travel to Barcelona with some major players missing. Thibaut Courtois is still out with a cruciate ligament tear, the Belgium goalkeeper has been absent since August and is set to miss the rest of the year. Eder Militao, Brazilian center back, is also out with a cruciate ligament tear and is expected to be back in March 2024.
Bellingham, Vini Jr, Rodrygo and Tchouameni were all in attendance to watch the EuroLeague El Clásico 🏀⚽️
Real Madrid came out on top, winning the game 65-64 👏
The players will be hoping to do the same thing on Saturday when they face Barcelona 👀 pic.twitter.com/FN5MdP21ef
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 27, 2023
Arda Guler, the new arrival in the summer, is yet to make an appearance for Real Madrid as he is still out with a muscle injury. Dani Ceballos, the Spanish midfielder, is also set to miss out against FC Barcelona after missing matches against Sevilla and Braga due to a muscular injury. His return date is yet to be announced by the club.
Rest the squad is fit to travel to Barcelona. Furthermore, no player in the squad is currently suspended. Nacho Fernández’s recent suspension was reduced to two matches from three, which raised some eyebrows, but the questions about the reduction won’t stop the center-back from traveling with the squad.
FC Barcelona injury list for El Clasico
In the case of FC Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski is a minor doubt with an ankle injury. The Polish striker may start the match on the bench if he is forced to make an appearance for the Spanish giants. Similarly, Pedri is still nursing the thigh injury and may start the fixture on the bench.
Frenkie de Jong is a major doubt due to his ankle injury, which suffered against Celta Vigo in La Liga. The Brazilian winger, Raphinha is a minor doubt and might make an appearance from the bench. Jules Kounde is a major doubt at Center back, even after his quick recovery from his knee injury.
Pedri, Kounde, de Jong, Raphinha, and Lewandowski all trained with the group today. 👀 pic.twitter.com/ilBkxD1brj
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 27, 2023
Sergi Roberto is out from the fixture as he has failed to recover from his muscle injury. There were some rumors that João Félix might also be out with his recent knock in midweek. However, reports out of Spain confirmed that the Portuguese has made a quick recovery from his knock.
Pedri, Kounde, Frenki de Jong, Raphinha, and Lewandowski all trained with the group in the last training session before the match. However, Xavi and the fitness team will address the degree of involvement of each player in the fixture. Meanwhile, the tensions are already high ahead of the game with the latest remarks from FC Barcelona spokesperson on Vinicius Jr.
Real Madrid are currently joint leaders of La Liga with Girona. They both have 25 points in 10 games. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona is one point away from Real Madrid in third with 24 points.
Girona has scored the most goals in the league, with 24 goals. FC Barcelona is the only undefeated side in the league. The upcoming El Clásico has shaped up to be a pivotal point in the title race in Spain.