The football world will unite to pay attention to the Spanish La Liga once again when Barcelona hosts Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
Oftentimes these two teams have met, it would be to witness the greatness of two of the best players the world has ever seen – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, that will not be the case in Sunday’s fixture as Messi completed a free transfer to French side, Paris Saint-Germain.
For Madrid, things are beginning to shape up after the departure of Ronaldo in 2018, as they have already won the league title without the Portuguese. Barca have not been too good post-Messi era but Ronald Koeman continues to work his best for the team.
Over the weekend, the Catalan will face a side they have failed to beat at home in the last two games, while they have also lost three of the last four against Madrid.
The last game between these two teams saw the Los Blancos record a 2-1 win at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, courtesy goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos.
After eight games played by each club, Madrid are currently two points above Barcelona ahead of Sunday’s game. A win for Madrid will see them move to the top of the league table with a game in hand.
WHERE AND WHEN?
Venue: Camp Nou.
Date: Sunday, October 24.
Time: 14:15 GMT.
TEAM NEWS
Ousmane Dembele, Ronald Araujo, Pedri, and Martin Braithwaite have all been ruled out of the game due to injuries while Jordi Alba has passed a late fitness test to be with the team.
For Madrid, Eden Hazard has made the squad for the game but Gareth Bale, Isco and Luca Jovic have all not recovered in time for the first Clasico of the 2021/22 season.
PREDICTED STARTING LINEUP
Barca: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Garcia, Pique, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, De Jong; Dest, Depay, Fati.
Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius.
PREDICTION
Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid
