Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Venue: Camp Nou
Kick off: 4:15pm
Barcelona can ill afford to lose further ground to arch-rivals, Real Madrid, in the La Liga as they gear up for the first El Clasico of the season at Camp Nou on Saturday.
A much-changed Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by third-tier outfit, Hercules, in the Copa del Rey in midweek – the Catalan giants’ third draw in their last four matches in all competitions.
Luis Enrique’s side have fallen six points behind Real Madrid following an indifferent start to the season and cannot afford to lose against their great rivals at Camp Nou.
Andres Iniesta is fit again after recovering from a knee injury and could start against Real.
Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba suffered knocks in the 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad last weekend but are available for the upcoming game.
Real Madrid beats Cultural Leonesa 6-1 in midweek to register their fifth straight win.
The capital club are unbeaten in their last 32 matches in all competitions and beat Barcelona 2-1 in this corresponding fixture last season, courtesy of goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos are both sidelined through injury for the visitors.
Barcelona possible XI: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Real Madrid possible XI: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kovacic, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo.