Barcelona face Real Madrid in El Clasico with La Liga lead at stake

Barcelona will look to extend their advantage over Real Madrid to nine points when the Spanish champions host their rivals in Sunday’s El Clasico at Camp Nou.

Hansi Flick’s side had been building towards the fixture as an opportunity to strengthen their position at the top of La Liga, but their preparations were disrupted by a 2-1 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday – their first loss of the season.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have won four consecutive matches, including a thrashing of RB Leipzig on Wednesday. The improvement has given Jose Mourinho’s team momentum and, for the first time since his arrival this summer, they are beginning to look settled as a side.

Barcelona remain six points clear of third-placed Real Madrid and will be encouraged by the return to fitness of Raphinha and the outstanding form of teenage winger Lamine Yamal.

El Clasico has often shaped the direction of a season. Real Madrid won the first meeting between the clubs last season, but Vinicius Junior’s angry response to being substituted exposed tensions during Xabi Alonso’s brief spell in charge.

The Basque coach was dismissed little more than two months later. Alvaro Arbeloa could not prevent Real Madrid from completing a second successive season without a major trophy, while Barcelona retained the Spanish title comfortably.

Vinicius is suspended for Sunday’s match, and his absence could provide Mourinho with a more straightforward selection decision, regardless of the Brazil international’s inconsistent displays.

“Vinicius’s four-match suspension was seen within Real Madrid more as a solution than a problem,” wrote Spanish daily AS.

Mourinho has generally selected all of his leading players when they have been available, although doing so has made it harder to establish a cohesive system and maintain the balance between attack and defence.

Yan Diomande, the record £140 million (about R2.59 billion) signing, provides greater defensive protection and has started to make an impact in attack. The teenager could therefore be Mourinho’s choice against Barcelona.

Another option would be to add an extra midfielder to disrupt Barcelona’s fluent style, a tactic associated with Mourinho. However, Paris Saint-Germain showed that Barcelona can be exposed by attacking them.

Mourinho rejected the idea that Real Madrid would have a psychological advantage, saying: “Confidence doesn’t exist” for Clasicos.

“It’s not a game like the others … we’re losing 24 hours of rest (compared to Barcelona),” he said on Wednesday.

Barcelona also have defensive concerns. Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen are unavailable, Jules Kounde is doubtful and midfielder Dani Olmo is injured.

Flick’s team conceded four goals against Paris Saint-Germain and again appeared unable to resolve their defensive vulnerability, which has persisted during his tenure and is partly linked to their high defensive line.

“We made too many mistakes, especially in ball possession, easy ball losses,” Flick admitted.

“This is what we have to analyse. We have to understand the mistakes happen because (players) are not fresh. What they had to do the last couple of weeks is unbelievable.”

Barcelona’s attacking record remains formidable: they have scored at least twice in every match this season and average more than four goals per game.

“Our unbeaten run (domestically) is still intact, and we’ll do everything we can to keep it that way,” Raphinha told TNT Sports.

Raphinha leads the league’s scoring charts with 12 goals, three more than Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe. Yamal is third with eight.

Mbappe and Yamal will also hope to be named the world’s best player at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, but victory in El Clasico would be the more significant prize for their clubs.