According to reports, this will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Real Madrid lost both previous matches—a humiliating 4-0 defeat at home in La Liga and a 5-2 loss in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. Real Madrid and Barcelona are set to face each other again in two weeks in a match that could decide the La Liga champion.

Despite a painful 5-1 aggregate loss to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid has won their last three La Liga matches.

Although the team appeared somewhat fatigued in these matches, winning all by a narrow margin, they performed slightly better in their last two games against Athletic Bilbao and Getafe.

Barcelona has lost their main striker, Robert Lewandowski, due to injury, but this hasn’t stopped them from dominating other teams. Apart from a loss to Borussia Dortmund (which they won on aggregate), they haven’t lost any other match in 2025.

Barcelona’s recent results, excluding the loss to Dortmund, closely resemble Real Madrid’s—winning all three matches by a single goal: a 4-3 victory over Celta Vigo and two 1-0 wins against Leganés and Mallorca.

Real Madrid will be without three players. Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal have been injured for a long time and won’t return this season. Eduardo Camavinga has also suffered a recent injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season. However, Real Madrid has slightly recovered from injury pressures, as Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, and Kylian Mbappé have returned for this crucial match.

Probable Real Madrid lineup: Thibaut Courtois; Federico Valverde, Marco Asensio, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy; Aurélien Tchouaméni, Dani Ceballos, Luka Modrić, Jude Bellingham; Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé.

Barcelona has faced multiple injuries in recent weeks. Marc Bernal has missed the entire season, while Marc Casadó has been sidelined for the rest of the season due to a recent injury. Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde will also miss this match. Meanwhile, Marc-André ter Stegen has returned to the squad after recovering from a long-term ACL injury.

Probable Barcelona lineup: Wojciech Szczęsny; Jules Koundé, Iñigo Martínez, Cubarsí, Fort; Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Raphinha.