Few, if any, rivalries in world football can match the animosity, theatre and sheer level of quality on show in El Clasico.

And with Jose Mourinho being reintroduced to the mix, Real Madrid's clashes with Barcelona this season should be appointment viewing.

The first of those takes place on Sunday at Camp Nou, and with Barca winning their first nine games to assume early control of the LaLiga title race, it is a crucial one for both teams. 

Defeats to Real Betis and Atletico Madrid have left Madrid playing catch-up, with six points separating the teams ahead of their head-to-head meeting.

Who will come out on top, and which superstars will have a decisive impact? Here, we delve into Opta's best insights to provide a data-powered preview. 

9 world champions. The all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history. The MVP of the tournament. The best young player. The greatest concentration of football stars comes together in one single match. On October 25th, the stars align. Experience it in #ELCLÁSICO  https://t.co/WxJdYkTiK9

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) October 22, 2026

What's expected?

Given Barcelona's swashbuckling start to the campaign, it is no surprise to see them favoured by the Opta supercomputer on home soil.

Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the model, Hansi Flick's team were victorious in 56% of scenarios, with Madrid assigned a 24.8% chance of an away win and a 19.2% likelihood of earning a point.

In the supercomputer's 2026-27 season predictions, Barca are currently assigned a 77.1% chance of successfully defending their crown, with Madrid's title hopes down at 15%.

But those probabilities could swing significantly on Sunday, depending on who emerges with the bragging rights. 

Barcelona have won their last two home games against Madrid in LaLiga – a 2-0 triumph in May that clinched the title for 2025-26, and a thrilling 4-3 triumph 12 months earlier.

Only once in the 21st century have Barca achieved three consecutive home victories against Madrid in the competition, doing so under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2010.

However, Madrid have won three of their last six away games against the Blaugrana in LaLiga (L3), as many victories as they managed across their previous 16 visits to Camp Nou in the league (W3 D6 L7).

Barca out for historic 10

Madrid might be viewing Sunday's clash as a must-not-lose if they harbour realistic ambitions of dethroning Barca.

But for Flick's team, the match offers a huge opportunity to put real daylight between themselves and their arch-rivals. 

Indeed, this is Madrid's biggest negative points difference to the LaLiga leaders this early in a campaign since 2012-13, when they sat eight points behind Barca after nine matchdays and ultimately finished 15 points adrift in second, also under Mourinho. 

And Barca, having won the title as a direct result of a Clasico victory just five months ago, could cause their foes more embarrassment by making history against them this weekend.

They are just the second team to win their first nine games at the start of a LaLiga season, after Madrid did so way back in 1968-69, and they could now become the first side in the competition's history to start a campaign with 10 straight wins. 

Barca have always been easy on the eye under Flick, but their attacking returns this season have been truly special, plundering 39 goals in their nine LaLiga games. 

Only one team in the competition's history has managed a better goalscoring start, with no side doing so since the Second World War – Sevilla netted 42 times in nine games at the beginning of 1940-41. 

Barca were on the wrong side of a six-goal thriller in the Champions League on Tuesday, losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain, but Lamine Yamal still made his mark with a wonderful solo goal, and he has been at the forefront of the Blaugrana's hot start.

Lamine Yamal from that angle?!  #UCL https://t.co/YXlHQq2QoG

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 22, 2026

Yamal has eight goals in nine LaLiga appearances this campaign, which is the most by any player aged 20 or younger at this stage of a season in the 21st century.

It is easy to forget that Yamal failed to provide a goal involvement in Barca's first two games, with the winger tallying eight goals and six assists in his last six outings in LaLiga. 

Since that run began on August 31, Yamal's 14 total goal involvements are the most by any player in Europe's top five leagues, with team-mate Raphinha (11) the only other player in double figures.

Mbappe and Mourinho must provide magic for Madrid

With this game taking place on the eve of the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony, a match-up between Yamal and Kylian Mbappe, another of the foremost contenders to be named the world's best player, should grab everyone's attention.

 #ELCLÁSICO https://t.co/MXBKr1yDx2

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) October 22, 2026

Mbappe has a phenomenal record versus Barcelona, scoring 12 goals in 10 games against them in all competitions throughout his career (four in three outings for PSG, eight in seven for Madrid). 

The only players to find the net more often against the Blaugrana this century are former Madrid icons Cristiano Ronaldo (20 goals) and Karim Benzema (16).

Mbappe was on target against RB Leipzig in a 4-1 Champions League victory on Wednesday, having scored a brace against Sevilla last time out in LaLiga – the first was an incredible spin and finish, with the second being a penalty he won himself. 

The France captain has won eight penalties and scored 17 in LaLiga, in 74 games. Since his arrival at the start of 2024-25, only Ante Budimir has won (11) or scored more spot-kicks (18) in the competition.

Take a bow, @KMbappe  https://t.co/GYs5ER6n3F

— Real Madrid C.F.  (@realmadriden) October 22, 2026

And the France superstar will have an even more significant role to play, with Vinicius Junior still suspended for this game, having been banned for four domestic games following his red card for pulling the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba. 

It should be said that Vinicius has been far from his electrifying best this season anyway, only scoring once – and supplying three assists – in 11 matches across all competitions.

And given how strong Barca have looked this campaign, it would be little surprise to see Madrid sit deep and attempt to carve out chances for Mbappe on the break, in true Mourinho fashion.

Mourinho ended his first stint in charge of Madrid by going unbeaten throughout his last five matches against Barca in all competitions (W3 D2).

And he could now become just the third Madrid coach to enjoy a six-game unbeaten streak in this fixture, after Miguel Munoz between 1962 and 1965 (seven matches, W7) and Vicente del Bosque between 2001 and 2003 (seven matches, W2 D5).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Barcelona – Raphinha

Excluding the obvious pair of Yamal and Mbappe, Raphinha is surely the other standout attacker to watch in this match.

The Brazilian, who is fit again after sustaining a thigh issue while on international duty, has 17 direct goal involvements in just 10 matches this season, across all competitions (14 goals, three assists).

His team-mate Yamal (10 goals, 10 assists) is the only player from Europe's top five leagues with more combined goals and assists in 2026-27.

Real Madrid – Jude Bellingham

Bellingham memorably scored two goals – one of which was a stoppage-time winner – in his first Clasico back in October 2023, as Madrid triumphed 2-1.

Since then, he has hit the net twice in nine appearances against Madrid's rivals, and both of those goals have proved to be the match-winner.

He popped up with another stoppage-time strike in April 2024 as Los Blancos triumphed 3-2, also scoring the decider in the 43rd minute as Madrid won 2-1 in October 2025.