Camp Nou will host the latest instalment of El Clasico on Sunday night, as Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns in Spain's top flight once more.

Barcelona have been the reference point in La Liga this season, winning each of their opening nine matches to collect 27 points, while Real Madrid are third in the division on 21 points.

Match preview

Barcelona will enter Sunday's El Clasico off the back of their first defeat of the campaign, going down 4-2 to European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, and it was a fascinating match between two excellent teams.

Hansi Flick's team will now put their perfect La Liga record this season on the line; an excellent start to the campaign has seen the Catalan outfit win their first nine games to sit at the summit on 27 points, five points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 in Seville last weekend, and a win on Sunday would see them open up a nine-point lead over Real Madrid, which would be substantial, even at this stage of the season.

The Catalan side have won six of their last seven matches against Real Madrid in all competitions, including a 2-0 victory in the corresponding game during the 2025-26 campaign.

Barcelona have not lost at home to Real Madrid since October 2023, with their last two losses to Los Blancos coming at Bernabeu in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid will enter this match off the back of a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League, while they also beat Sevilla 4-1 in La Liga last weekend.

Los Blancos suffered a damaging defeat to Atletico Madrid before the September/October international break, but they have since overcome Villarreal, Roma, Sevilla and RB Leipzig to post four straight wins in all competitions.

While it would be incredibly difficult to write off a title challenge for Real Madrid in October, Jose Mourinho's side really cannot afford to fall nine points behind Barcelona, as the room for error is likely to be small in Spain's top flight this season.

Real Madrid have four matches before the next international break, facing Barcelona, Racing de Santander and Valencia in the league, in addition to a trip to AEK Athens in Europe.

Sunday's match will see a number of the world's best players go to battle, including Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe.

Barcelona La Liga form:

Barcelona form (all competitions):

Real Madrid La Liga form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

Team News

Barcelona will definitely be without the services of Dani Olmo (adductor), Roony Bardghji (knee), Andreas Christensen (thigh) and Eric Garcia (thigh) for El Clasico.

Meanwhile, Jules Kounde is a major doubt due to an ankle issue; at this stage of proceedings, it is unlikely that the France international will be involved.

As a result, it should be Joao Cancelo and Xavi Espart in the full-back areas, while Rodri and Fermin Lopez are both likely to be introduced back into the side after the PSG clash.

Yamal and Raphinha will be certain starters in the final third of the field, while Anthony Gordon is expected to keep his spot down the left.

As for Real Madrid, Rodrygo (knee), Ferland Mendy (hip) and Raul Asencio (leg) will miss the game at Camp Nou through injury, while Vinicius Junior is suspended.

Head coach Mourinho has big decisions to make in midfield, with Federico Valverde's services potentially being used at right-back. As a result, Bernardo Silva's performance against RB Leipzig could see him feature in the starting side.

Arda Guler and Yan Diomande are likely to operate in the wide areas for Los Blancos, with Jude Bellingham as the number 10 behind centre-forward Mbappe.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Cancelo, Cubarsi, Martin, Espart; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Gordon; Raphinha

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Diomande; Mbappe

We say: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid

We are backing Real Madrid to end Barcelona's winning run in La Liga this weekend, and it should be an open and entertaining affair given the quality of the attacking players on display.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.