Madrid arrives at Sunday’s Clásico in a confident spell, but Barcelona will begin as the side carrying favouritism. Real Madrid’s trip into the rivalry comes with an unusual absence: Vinicius Junior will not be available for the Liga meeting.
It is the first Barcelona-Real Madrid match without the Brazilian since 18 December 2019. In the 21 Clásicos played since then, Vinicius had started every time, scoring eight goals as Madrid recorded 11 wins and 10 defeats.
Quick facts
- Vinicius Junior is serving a four-match Liga ban after his dismissal against Villarreal.
- He has already missed Sevilla and will also sit out Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia.
- Yan Diomande has three goals and three assists in four October appearances.
- Madrid’s most recent Clásico without Vinicius ended 0-0 in December 2019.
José Mourinho could not call on Vinicius against Sevilla, his first domestic match of the suspension. He used Endrick on the right, Diomande from the left and Kylian Mbappé through the middle.
Vinicius was able to return in Europe against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, starting on the left with Arda Güler on the opposite flank. Diomande came off the bench, scoring a notable goal and setting up Mbappé.
The Ivorian teenager is now the leading candidate to cover the vacant left-sided role at Barcelona. Endrick remains an option for the other wing, although Güler is also competing for that position depending on Mourinho’s preferred balance.
Endrick made an important second-half contribution during the 4-3 Champions League win over Roma. He then started against Sevilla without making the same impact, before returning to the bench against Leipzig and appearing only late on.
The last Vinicius-free Clásico belonged to another Madrid era. Zinedine Zidane selected Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphaël Varane, Ferland Mendy, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Isco, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema; Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Vinicius were among the younger players on the bench.
Barcelona had Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Antoine Griezmann in their forward line that night, but neither team found a goal.
Madrid’s likely XI for this weekend has Courtois in goal; Valverde, Ibrahima Konaté, Antonio Rüdiger or Dean Huijsen, and Marc Cucurella in defence; Aurélien Tchouaméni, Güler and Jude Bellingham in midfield; then Bernardo Silva or Endrick, Diomande and Mbappé in attack.
