(Football news) The La Liga season is off to an incredible start for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. The two rivals are level on points, having won 7 and drawn 1 of their 8 matches. This is the perfect time for the first El Clasico of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu. The last time these two sides met in this venue, Barcelona won 4-0 but the result had no effect as Real Madrid ended up winning the La Liga comfortably. This time around it will have more effect on the league table. Both the sides scored last minute equalizers in their UCL fixtures midweek. The only difference is that Real Madrid's draw against Shakhtar Donetsk sealed their place in the Round of 16 while Barcelona's draw against Inter Milan makes their drop to the Europa League almost certain.
The visitors have a lot of injury problems as Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin, Ronald Araujo and Memphis Depay are ruled out of the game. The good news is that Jules Kounde has returned to training and could start the game. Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique both underperformed against Inter and could drop to the bench. Carlo Ancelotti has said multiple times that Thibaut Courtois will be fit for the El Clasico but the Belgian has still not returned to training and could miss the game while Dani Ceballos is still out of contention. Antonio Rudiger was brutally injured while scoring the equaliser against Shakhtar. It is just a cut hence the German could play with a mask in the Clasico.
El Clasico is one of those fixtures in which the form book goes out of the window and any result is possible. Form wise both teams have had a few struggles since the international break was over. This will be the first El Clasico where Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema will be face to face. The Frenchman has truly struggled to get going this season but he will turn up sooner or later. Courtois' presence or absence will be a big factor in the final result and all eyes will be on that news. Santiago Bernabeu is expected to be rocking, which will make things a little difficult for Barcelona.
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