Barcelona dealt massive injury blow ahead of crunch Real Madrid showdown: Reports
Barcelona have been dealt a significant injury blow ahead of their clash against Real Madrid as Robert Lewandowski is likely to miss the game. The Pole received an ankle injury in the Catalans' last game against FC Porto.
As per reports by journalist Toni Juanmarti of Sport, Lewandowski's injury is much worse than first feared. He suggests that the striker will be ruled out for the upcoming El Clasico.
Barcelona won the game as Lewandowski's replacement Ferran Torres came on and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Porto. However, being without the Pole for the monumental game against Real Madrid could be very costly for Barca.
The two Spanish giants are separated by just one point at the summit after eight game weeks. While it is still early in the season, this clash will carry a lot of weight as it could give the winning side a lot of momentum going forward.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona secured wins in their Champions League outings as Los Blancos defeated Napoli 3-2 in an enthralling contest. With Jude Bellingham in red-hot form, Carlo Ancelotti's men will be full of confidence for this game.
It will be exciting to see how Xavi Hernandez and his team cope with the loss of their most important striker.
Real Madrid and Barcelona two of four teams with 100% CL record
After two rounds of Champions League football, just four of the 32 teams are still to drop points. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are the only teams yet to drop a single point in the competition.
Los Blancos have worked hard for their two wins, defeating Union Berlin 1-0 before securing a 3-2 win over Napoli in a thriller.
Barca have maintained their clean sheets as well, defeating Royal Antwerp 5-0 before scraping past Porto 1-0.
Bayern have arguably had the toughest matches, defeating Manchester United 4-3, before making a late comeback to get past FC Copenhagen 2-1.
City have secured a pair of 3-1 wins, defeating Crvena Zvezda and RB Leipzig to sit atop their group.
It remains to be seen which team can pull their winning streak the longest.