Real Madrid vs Barcelona lineups, live stream: Where to watch El Clasico live online, TV, prediction and odds

El Clasico gets its first run of the season on Saturday when Real Madrid host Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga. The Catalan giants are leading the way and have been better than their capital rivals so far this season, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men are just three points off second place, making this an important game. Victory and Real have gained ground on Barca, which seemed unlikely given their fast start under Hansi Flick just a few weeks ago, but a draw or win for the visitors actually gives them a strong lead in the title race.

Los Blancos have won their last four meetings in all competitions, including a La Liga double last season, with the clash at the Santiago Bernabeu ending 3-2, part of an unbeaten home streak against the Blaugrana that dates back to early 2022. Real beat Celta Vigo 3-2 last time domestically, during a 5-2 defeat in midweek against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League has improved their continental table situation. Kylian Mbappe remains difficult to match with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, but a win here would complete an encouraging recovery at the start of the season.

Barca have started life brilliantly under Flick, with a 5-1 win over Sevilla in La Liga, followed by a 4-1 win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The German couldn’t have got off to a better start and with players returning from a serious injury crisis, the Catalans should only go from strength to strength. This is part of a derby doubleheader with Espanyol next up and the chance to build a potential six-point lead over Real will be very tempting for the Blaugrana when they visit Madrid.

Here are our storylines, how to watch the game and more:

How to watch and ratings

• Date: Saturday, October 26th | Time: 3pm ET
• Location: Santiago Bernabeu – Madrid, Spain
• Regard: ESPN Sports | Electricity: Fubo (try for free)
• Opportunities: Real +105; draw +300; Barca +220

season so far

Real have not been anywhere near their best of late, but remain unbeaten with seven wins and three draws from their ten La Liga games, putting them in second place. Barca have won nine out of 10 games despite significant injury problems, giving them a three-point lead heading into this game. The visitors are the top scorers in La Liga with 33 goals, an average of more than three goals per game. Los Merengues will try to solve this problem. Real face Valencia, Osasuna and Milan before the November international break, while Barca face Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Crvena Zvezda before the next international break.

Team news

Real: Courtois and Rodrygo are both out after the Bayern game, so Andriy Lunin will step in between the posts and Bellingham could sit up front behind Mbappé and Vini Jr. Bellingham has yet to score a goal this year, but Vinicius and Mbappé have both scored eight goals. Brahim Diaz could return to the squad after injury to give Ancelotti another option, but David Alaba and Dani Carvajal are missing, as are Courtois and Rodrygo.

Possible real eleven: Lunin; Vazquez, Militao, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Mbappe.

Barcelona: Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo and Gavi are all fit and could be on the bench in El Clasico. Marc Casado should remain in midfield alongside Pedri, while Fermin Lopez could take on the No. 10 role. Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all missing, but Eric Garcia could return. Robert Lewandowski was extremely successful with 15 goals in 13 appearances in all competitions.

Possible Barca XI: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

forecast

This game looks to be fairly even, with Real and Barca scoring at least once, but neither team emerging victorious. With so much at stake in terms of the possible points deficit, this is a little more important for the hosts. Choose: Real 1, Barca 1.