El Clasico team news and prediction: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

We come to the first Clasico of the season as Barcelona take on fierce rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou. In a strange turn of events, neither side is top of LaLiga, which is rarity in Spain, ahead of Saturday's huge meeting. 

In the build up to El Clasico, we have all your need-to-know match information in one place, including team news, where you can catch the game and a scoreline prediction.  

When is kick off?     

Saturday 24th October, 15:00 GMT     

Where is the match?     

Camp Nou, Barcelona 

Where can I watch it?     

LaLiga TV, via Premier Sports 

Season so far 

Both sides have stumbled so far in 2020/21. The pair lost the final league game before El Clasico, with Real Madrid succumbing to a 1-0 home loss to Cadiz before Getafe edged past Barcelona by the same scoreline. The duo endured mixed fortunes in the Champions League in midweek as Barcelona brushed Ferencvaros aside 5-1 at Camp Nou, whereas Real Madrid fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Los Blancos, though, are unbeaten on their travels in LaLiga this season, picking up seven of nine available points. Barcelona beat Villarreal 4-0 in their first home league match of 2020/21, but a 1-1 draw with Sevilla means they come into the fixture in ninth, four points off top spot. 

Real Madrid, having played a game more, sit third in LaLiga, one point, and two places, behind league leaders Real Sociedad, and they'll be looking to extend the gap between themselves and Barcelona and potentially end the weekend atop the table. 

Team News 

A huge blow for Barcelona, Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains sidelined with a tendon injury sustained in August for Ronald Koeman's side with the German yet to feature for the Blaugrana this season. Samuel Umtiti also misses out with the Frenchman succumbing to another knee injury over the summer. Better news for Barcelona, though, is that Jordi Alba has been included in the squad for El Clasico after a hamstring injury, but it remains to be seen whether he will start for the home side. 

The problematic issue for visitors Real Madrid comes at right-back. With Dani Carvajal injured and Alvaro Odriozola sitting out on a trip to Barcelona, Nacho may feature at right-back, though Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao are options for Zinedine Zidane. Eden Hazard again misses out for Los Blancos, so too does Martin Odegaard, however, Sergio Ramos is back for Real Madrid after his absence in the Champions League in midweek, which is a boost. 

Probable XIs 

Barcelona (4231) - Neto; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Dest; Busquets, De Jong; Griezmann, Coutinho, Fati; Messi

Real Madrid (4312) - Courtois; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Kroos; Modric; Vinicius Junior, Benzema

Key Battle - Ansu Fati vs Vinicius Junior

It's the next generation that takes centre stage in the first Clasico of the campaign. Ansu Fati has made a blistering start to the season for Barcelona and he'll be looking to continue his fine form that has seen him garner a WhoScored rating of 7.65 this season, that the second best in LaLiga in 2020/21. The 17-year-old broke onto the scene with aplomb last season and he already has three goals to his name as he takes centre stage for Barcelona at Lionel Messi's expense.

Having featured sporadically last season, Vinicius Junior is a key man under Zinedine Zidane in 2020/21, capitalising on the extended absence of Eden Hazard to consolidate a first team spot. The Brazilian is one goal away from matching his 2019/20 LaLiga season total having struck the winner in the 1-0 win over Real Valladolid before bagging the opener in the 2-0 victory at Levante. Having come off the bench to net a consolation in midweek, the Brazilian will look to score in his second successive Clasico showing having opened the scoring in Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Barcelona in early March.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid