Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Mbappe Leads Los Blancos into High-Stakes El Clasico Showdown
The Santiago Bernabeu is set to host one of football’s biggest rivalries on Sunday as Real Madrid welcome defending champions Barcelona for the first El Clasico of the 2025/26 La Liga season. Los Blancos, under new manager Xabi Alonso, currently sit two points clear of Barça and will be looking to extend their advantage — powered by the sensational form of Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman has scored 10 of Madrid’s 20 league goals and 15 in all competitions this season, leading Spain’s scoring charts. Last season, Barcelona dominated the rivalry with four straight Clasico victories, including wins in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. That run culminated in Carlo Ancelotti’s departure and Alonso’s appointment as Madrid boss. Madrid enter Sunday’s clash with questions over their big-game resilience after a 5-2 loss to Atletico Madrid and a Club World Cup exit to Paris Saint-Germain, but a win over Barcelona would ease concerns and open a five-point gap at the top. Alonso has built a promising partnership between Mbappe and young Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, whose ability to find space and feed Mbappe’s runs has been crucial. With Barcelona’s defence showing early-season fragility, Madrid are expected to target the spaces in behind. For Barcelona, assistant coach Marcus Sorg will take charge on the touchline as Hansi Flick serves a suspension from last week’s win over Girona. He acknowledged that the absence of winger Raphinha, who suffered a hamstring setback, is a major blow but insisted the squad has sufficient depth to cope. The spotlight will also fall on 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, who faces added pressure after his controversial comments about Real Madrid. Sorg said the criticism will serve as motivation for the young winger as he takes on Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras. This is the 262nd meeting between Spain’s two giants. Real Madrid hold 105 wins to Barcelona’s 104. Kick-off is at 4:15 p.m. local time (14:15 GMT), with live coverage on TrendBrio Sport beginning two hours earlier. Predicted LineupsReal Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Asencio, Carreras; Guler, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius.Barcelona: Szczesny; E Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Ferran.