Who: Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Content: El Clasico of Spain’s La Liga
Location: Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain
When: Sunday 4:15pm (14:15 GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports starting at 1:15pm (11:15 GMT) ahead of a live text commentary stream.
Barcelona won four Clasicos against Real Madrid last season, but Los Blancos, led by in-form striker Kylian Mbappe, will aim to restore parity in La Liga on Sunday.
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Hansi Flick’s side defeated Madrid twice in La Liga and in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup finals, winning the domestic treble and ending the reign of Carlo Ancelotti.
Italy’s substitute Xabi Alonso got off to a strong start, giving Madrid a two-goal lead over Barcelona and heading into the match at the Santiago Bernabéu in first place.
Al Jazeera Sports will feature the first Clasico of the season.
How is Real Madrid doing heading into El Clasico?
Madrid have doubts about their performance in big games after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals of this summer’s Club World Cup and suffering a 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the derby in September.
A win in El Clasico would widen the gap to five points over their rivals and ease those concerns, but Flick’s Barça are still not at the same level as last season.
How is Mbappe doing at Real Madrid?
Despite doubts about his quality at Madrid, Mbappé has reached new heights this season after finishing last season with great results.
Mbappe had scored in all 11 of his previous games for club and country until Wednesday’s Champions League win over Juventus, with Jude Bellingham scoring the only goal in that game.
The 26-year-old is Spain’s top scorer with 10 of Madrid’s 20 La Liga goals, and has scored 15 goals for the club in all competitions, accounting for 54 per cent of their total goals.
Alonso said last week: “We are not dependent on him,” but the statistics suggest otherwise.
“We are very happy with his performance. He is decisive.”
Why was last season so difficult for Real Madrid’s Mbappe?
Mbappe struggled to regain confidence and form in his early days at Madrid, and his first Clasico ended in a huge disappointment.
Exactly one year before this weekend’s Clasico, Barcelona visited the Bernabéu and won 4-0. The match was notable for the French superstar’s struggle to break through Catalonia’s high defensive line in Madrid’s first encounter.
Mbappe had one goal disallowed for offside and was found offside a total of eight times. Spanish newspaper As wrote that the forward had “shrunk and lost its venom”.
After weeks of Madrid’s slump, Mbappé vowed: “It’s time to change things and show who we are as a player.”
By January, when Mbappé next faced Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, he had stepped up a gear.
Madrid lost 5-2, but Mbappé found the back of the net, just as they had in the Copa del Rey final, where they lost in a close 3-2.
In May, the currently in-form Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Barcelona, but the Whites still lost 4-3 at the Olympic Stadium, with Flick’s side effectively clinching the league title.
This time last year… pic.twitter.com/QCXkedaq5K
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) October 24, 2025
What else will get Real Madrid excited before the match against Barcelona?
Turkish playmaker Arda Güler has started to form a strong bond with Mbappe this season and has a knack for finding bursts in forwards behind the defence.
“Arda went between the lines and there he found Mbappé’s energy,” Alonso explained.
With Barcelona struggling defensively early this season, Madrid are confident Mbappé can get in behind the forward to devastating effect on Sunday.
Why did Barcelona’s Yamal attract attention at Real Madrid?
Teenage winger Lamine Yamal has attracted attention in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “stole” him and “complained about it” during an appearance on his social media stream.
However, Barcelona’s assistant coach said on Saturday that the turmoil caused could go the youngster’s way.
“Lamine is a top player and I think (criticism) will motivate him,” Flick’s assistant Marcus Sorg told a press conference.
“I hope we all see his best performance.”
The 18-year-old Spain international will face Madrid’s left-back Alvaro Carreras. Last season, he struggled at times with Benfica in the three Champions League games against Barcelona.
“Lamine was always highly motivated and if I remember correctly, we won all three games against Benfica,” said Sorg.
Why didn’t Flick speak out before El Clasico?
Flick is suspended after receiving a red card during last weekend’s win over Girona, with Sorg taking over touchline duties.
“Honestly, Hansi is the most important part of the team, so we are always missing without him,” Sorg said.
“Obviously it’s a disadvantage, but it’s the same with any player (who is out). We have to deal with it. We all know what he expects from us and I think we will do it.”
Will Barcelona’s Rafinha return to El Clasico?
Barcelona will be without winger Rafinha, who suffered a setback in his return from a hamstring injury.
“Rafinha, every team will miss him, but the way things are, we have enough players and we have to deal with it,” Sorg said.
direct confrontation
This was the 262nd Clasico, with Real winning 105 times and Barcelona 104 times.
Real Madrid team news
Real Madrid want Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos and Dean Huyssen back. Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba are absent due to muscle and groin injuries.
barcelona team news
Frenkie de Jong has returned from illness, but Jules Kounde is doubtful to play due to a minor bruise.
Rafinha remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Joao Garcia, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gabi, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo are also confirmed to be absent.
Real Madrid’s predicted starting lineup
Courtois. Valverde, Militao, Asensio, Carreras. Guler, Choameni, Bellingham. Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius
Barcelona’s predicted starting lineup
Szczesny; E. García, Araujo, Kvarsi, Balde. Pedri, de Jong. Yamal, Fermin, Rashford. Ferran
