The eyes of the soccer world zero in on the Santiago Bernabéu for the first meeting of the season between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
El Clásico is one of the biggest rivalries in the sport and all the ingredients are there to make this edition a firecracker of a soccer match.
Barcelona arrives to Madrid on a high. Hansi Flick’s men are coming of one of Barcelona’s best performances in years in the UEFA Champions League after winning 4–1 over Bayern Munich. The team looked dominant to start the season and now it’s also getting healthier.
Frenkie De Jong, Dani Olmo, Fermin López and Gavi all returned to action for the Blaugranas in the last month. With his midfield players now all ready for selection, Flick must decide who makes it into an already stacked XI.
Barcelona enters the home of its biggest rivals with a clear objective in mind: Ending Los Blancos’ four game winning streak in EL Clásico. Look for Flick to stick with a similar lineup to the one that dominated midweek in the Champions League.
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GK: Iñaki Peña—Although Wojciech Szczésny was signed in the aftermath of Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury, Peña has remained as Barça’s starting goalkeeper and doesn’t seem likely to give up the starting role any time soon.
LB: Alejandro Baldé—It will be interesting to see who Carlo Ancelotti utilizes in place of the injured Rodrygo. In any case, Baldé will look to push forward and test the resolve of Lucas Vázquez who was shaky defensively against Borussia Dortmund.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—The teenager continues the marvelous start to his career anchoring Barcelona’s defense.
CB: Iñigo Martínez—Both Martinez and Cubarsí will have to be well organized to handle Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham.
RB: Jules Koundé—Koundé will be charged with defending perhaps the most dangerous area of Real Madrid’s attack. Vinícius Junior is coming off a hat-trick in the UCL and Mbappé is known to also prefer to start his runs from the left-wing.
CM: Marc Casadó—One of Europe’s biggest breakout players of the season. With all the injuries in Barcelona’s midfield to start the Flick era, Casadó has come in and done brilliantly.
CM: Pedri—Pedri was great against Bayern Munich, dictating the tempo of the game. Barcelona’s game runs through the 21-year-old who is playing in a deeper role this season given the midfield injuries.
LW: Raphinha—The man of the match vs. Bayern Munich after scoring a hat-trick. Raphinha is in the form of his life.
AM: Dani Olmo—The big summer signing returned to action against Bayern Munich and after a month off could see his return to the Catalans starting XI. He’s scored in all three games started for Barcelona in La Liga.
RW: Lamine Yamal—September’s Player of the Month in La Liga hopes that the third Clásico in his young career will be the one where he scores for the first time.
ST: Robert Lewandowski—Under Flick, Lewandowski seems to have found the fountain of youth. His 12 goals in La Liga already have him six clear atop the race for the Golden Boot. He’s scored eight goals in the team’s last four games in all competitions.
