Barcelona’s Camp Nou will host another Clásico on Sunday with Real Madrid arriving short of familiar figures, and now without Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper has been ruled out of the trip after developing a flu-like illness, leaving Andriy Lunin in line to take the gloves against Barcelona.
José Mourinho must also work around a wider injury list, but Courtois’ absence is expected to be brief rather than a prolonged setback. Illia Voloshyn, a goalkeeper from Madrid’s youth C side, has been brought into the match squad as cover, while Lunin is set for a rare start in one of European football’s defining fixtures.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian last began a league match for Madrid in the 2-0 win away to Espanyol on matchday 34 of the 2025-26 LaLiga campaign. He had played for several months while Courtois recovered from a muscle tear, before the Belgian returned for the following week’s Clásico. Madrid lost that meeting with Barcelona 2-0.
Lunin has faced Barcelona four times as Madrid’s starting goalkeeper, recording three victories and one defeat. His most recent appearance came in matchday 32 of the 2023-24 season, when Jude Bellingham struck in stoppage time to secure a Madrid win. On Sunday, Lunin will be trying to prevent a third consecutive defeat for his side, which has lost seven of its previous eight meetings with Barcelona.
Courtois joins Ferland Mendy, Raúl Asencio and Rodrygo Goes on Madrid’s unavailable list, with those three continuing their recoveries from longer-term injuries. Vinicius Junior is also missing, serving the second match of a four-game ban imposed after events during the Villarreal match a few weeks ago.
Barcelona have their own absences to manage. Dani Olmo, Jules Koundé, Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji are all injured. One member of that group is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign, while the others could return after the November international break.
