Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Match preview, head-to-head, team news, key players | OneFootball

Real Madrid host rivals Barcelona in the La Liga at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday in the biggest fixture across the top five leagues in Europe.

Madrid secured a hard-fought victory at Getafe in their last league fixture, reclaiming top spot from Barcelona.

Barcelona had earlier leapfrogged them with a last-gasp win against Girona.

Match preview

Madrid have made a good start to the season under manager Xabi Alonso, suffering just one defeat across all competitions.

However, they have been defensively vulnerable, conceding nine goals in nine games, with injuries preventing Alonso from fielding his best back four.

Barcelona also have defensive frailties, conceding one more goal than Madrid. The departure of defender Inigo Martinez has weakened Barcelona’s backline.

With the two teams favouring an attacking style of play, the fans could be in for a treat.

Head-to-head

Madrid have won El Clasico 105 times, while Barcelona have triumphed on 104 occasions. There have been 52 draws between them.

Team news

Los Blancos are set to welcome back Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Dani Ceballos. David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy are ruled out.

Raphinha is back for Barcelona, but Andre Ter Stegen, Joan Garcia, Robert Lewandowski, Gavi and Dani Olmo are sidelined.

Key players

Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe: The French forward is La Liga’s most in-form forward, scoring ten goals in nine matches.

Vinicius Junior: The Brazilian has recovered from his slow start, providing six goal involvements in his last five league games.

Barcelona

Lamine Yamal: The young Spanish forward has tallied five goal contributions in seven games against Madrid.

Pedri: The 22-year-old has been the league’s best central midfielder since the start of last season.

Stats from fbref.com, transfermarkt.com & sofascore.com.