Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Combined XI
It's finally here. The first El Clasico of the season.
The atmosphere surrounding this particular fixture has been rather gloomy, and there's lesser anticipation among the fans than expected.
With Leo Messi fracturing his arm in Barcelona's win over Sevilla last week, Sunday's match at the Camp Nou will be the first Clasico in 11 years that will not feature both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Besides, both the Spanish heavyweights haven't had an ideal start to the season. Barcelona are at the top of the points table in LaLiga, but Valverde hasn't completely convinced fans yet – they turned on the team's style of play in their comfortable victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League in midweek.
Real Madrid's season so far can only be described as disastrous. They may be only four points off the top of the league, but they've already lost thrice this season, and have scored just three goals in their last six matches.
Against Viktoria Plzen, they won 2-1 this week, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Marcelo. However, Los Blancos could have easily lost the tie had the Czech side had taken all their chances.
On paper, there's barely anything to separate the two teams. Based on their form, Barca have a slight edge even with Messi out injured, but that's hardly how football plays out in real life.
So here's our take on an El Clasico combined XI ahead of tomorrow's blockbuster clash:
GK: Marc-André ter Stegen
Absolute no-brainer.
Ever since he became first choice after Claudio Bravo left for Manchester City, Ter Stegen has been one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Week in, week out, his saves defy the laws of physics.
Even though Real Madrid signed Courtois in the summer for a very reasonable fee of £35 million, Lopetegui still seems to be unsure of whether he wants the Belgian or Keylor Navas as his first choice between the poles.