A short-handed Real Madrid heads to the Camp Nou for Sunday's El Clásico against Barcelona.
Los Blancos sit second in La Liga, six points behind their unbeaten rivals after nine matches. They arrive in good spirits after a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig kept their Champions League record perfect.
José Mourinho is without Rodrygo, Raúl Asencio and Ferland Mendy, who were all left out of the squad named on Saturday. Vinícius Júnior will also miss out due to suspension.
Here is how Real Madrid could line up against Barcelona:
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs. Barcelona
- Goalkeeper: Courtois
- Defense: Dumfries, Huijsen, Konaté, Cucurella
- Midfield: Tchouameni, Güler
- Attacking midfield: Valverde, Bellingham, Diomande
- Forward: Mbappé
Yan Diomande is the likely replacement for Vinícius on the left side of the attack. He's been in fantastic form recently and will need to show it against Barcelona. Arda Güler could drop deeper alongside Aurélien Tchouameni to give Madrid
more control in midfield.
Real Madrid team news vs. Barcelona
- Out: Rodrygo, Asencio, Mendy
- Questionable: N/A
- Suspended: Vinícius
Will Vinícius Júnior play vs. Barcelona?
Vinícius is serving a four-game La Liga suspension after being sent off against Villarreal. The Brazilian sat out last week's 4-1 win over Sevilla. Sunday's match is the second game of his ban.
Mourinho refused to give anything away Saturday about how he'll fill the gap."You can ask another [question] because, about game plans, who will play, how we'll structure ourselves, or in which direction we'll try to take the match, these are questions I won't answer," said the Portuguese manager.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid time, TV
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 25
- Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Spotify Camp Nou (Barcelona, Spain)
- TV/stream: ESPN+ (WATCH HERE), ABC (Watch on Fubo), ESPN Deportes (Watch on Sling TV)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Real Madrid predicted lineup vs. Barcelona: Projected XI, team news
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