Real Madrid vs Barcelona live updates: El Clasico La Liga game ...

Real Madrid have gone early with their starting XI.

Lunin; Lucas, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Valverde; Bellingham; Mbappe, Vini Jr.

Luka Modric has become the oldest player in Real Madrid’s history at 39 years and 40 days old, overtaking their legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskas. Modric’s longevity at the top of the game is almost unrivalled.

The Croatia midfielder’s 27 trophies across 13 seasons with Madrid are the most of any player in club history and he will soon rack up 550 appearances (he is on 547). Striker Raul is the club’s record appearance maker, having featured in 741 games from 1994-2010.

“By all the parameters of football… Luka should have retired a couple of years ago,” his friend and former Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic told The Athletic last year. “But then you see him play and you have to say, ‘This guy is not 38 (as he was then), he is 28’.”

Here, we look at what Modric’s peers have said about him, the players he has overtaken to become Madrid’s oldest ever, and how that record compares in the Champions League and La Liga — as well as recapping some of his best moments with the Spanish club.

GO FURTHER

Luka Modric is Real Madrid’s oldest ever player: His best moments and place in club history

“I never thought that I’d coach Barcelona,” Quique Setien tells The Athletic. “For me it was the opportunity of my life, fulfilling a dream.”

Setien’s appointment as Barcelona coach in January 2020 seemed, at the time, the logical result of over six decades connected to football. As he ascended the divisions from Lugo through Las Palmas and Real Betis, building a reputation as a purist whose coaching methods produced attractive football, the Catalan club was a huge influence, especially former Barca player and coach Johan Cruyff.

“At Barca, you did not have to implant the idea; it is where the idea was made,” Setien said. “Maybe that ideal had slipped a little, but I was going to Barcelona to coach the best players in the world, who had won so much before.”

Just six months later, Setien was leaving Barcelona, after the nightmare of a crushing historic 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat against Bayern Munich.

Read more below

GO FURTHER

Quique Setien’s Barcelona dream became a nightmare: ‘Nobody called to say I was fired, I heard on TV’

It was a victory, you sensed, that might be considered year zero when Barcelona next enjoy a sustained run of success.

“This type of match will never be forgotten,” said Raphinha, Barcelona’s captain and hat-trick hero. It wasn’t simply about winning 4-1 against strong opposition in the Champions League, but about how it was done, who achieved it, and who were defeated.

Throughout the first half in particular, Barcelona used an almost comedically aggressive defensive line, which brought to mind the Netherlands side Johan Cruyff played in 50 years ago, never mind the Barca side he coached 30 years ago.

Read more below

GO FURTHER

Barcelona and Hansi Flick signal the start of a brave new era

Next up, we'll be looking at today's visitors in more depth.

Starting with Michael Cox's tactical assessment of Hansi Flick's side from their emphatic win against Bayern on Wednesday.

It feels like Ancelotti is being asked the same question about Bellingham's lack of goals before every match, at the moment. The Real Madrid manager remains nonplussed.

"It was decisive if he didn't score last year because we didn't have a striker like Karim (Benzema)," said Ancelotti.

"This year we don't have him because we have a player (Mbappe) who can score 30, 35, 40 or 50 goals."

After his debut season was flooded with goals, particularly in the first half of the campaign, goalmouth action has dried up for Jude Bellinham.

Carlo Ancelotti isn't unduly worried, as he shouldn't be, but it is clearly weighing heavily on the young Englishman's mind.

The introduction of Kylian Mbappe means there is less importance placed on Bellingham's attacking contributions, but I'm sure he would quite like to bring an end to his goal drought.

He scored in both La Liga Clasicos last season; an equaliser and the winner away and the winner again (in stoppage time) at the Bernabeu.

When Kylian Mbappe made his long-awaited move to Real Madrid this summer, the France superstar could have chosen to live wherever he wanted in the Spanish capital.

The Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has a luxury apartment in the vibrant city centre, which Mbappe already knew well from previous visits.

His new team-mates Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior have impressive residences in the established and comfortable La Moraleja neighbourhood, close to Madrid’s training ground at Valdebebas in the city’s northern outskirts.

Mbappe opted for La Finca, the exclusive private development in the swish Pozuelo de Alarcon suburb to the west of the city, following fellow galacticos Iker Casillas, Raul Gonzalez, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos and David Alaba.

Read more below

GO FURTHER

Inside La Finca, Madrid’s ‘Beverly Hills’ and home to Mbappe, Bellingham and more…

Toni Kroos’ decision to retire from football came as a shock to many at the end of last season. The 34-year-old midfielder was at the top of his game, a hugely important player for Real Madrid on the way to winning La Liga and the Champions League.

His final steps were almost cinematic. Kroos’ last game at club level was the 2-0 Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund on June 1. It was his 463rd appearance for Madrid. It was his fifth Champions League title and his 22nd trophy from a 10-year stay.

A few months into Madrid’s first season without him since 2013-14, his absence is already being felt. How could it not be? But Kroos has not gone far. He still lives in Madrid. His children go to school here.

I spoke to him last week for The Athletic – you can find it below.

GO FURTHER

Toni Kroos interview: ‘Nobody at Real Madrid was happy, but I wanted to leave like this’

As we continue our build-up to kick-off, let's take a look at this evening's hosts.

Firstly, an interview with recently retired club legend Toni Kroos and then a deep dive into La Finca, the 'Beverly Hills' of Madrid.

Raphinha's transformation from outcast at Camp Nou to captain and talisman is nothing short of extraordinary.

Not even the most optimistic Barcelona fan could have expected the former Leeds United winger to turn into arguably the most important player in the squad in such a short space of time.

The Athletic's Pol Ballus wrote about Wednesday's hat-trick was the culmination of his newfound confidence — check it out below.

GO FURTHER

Raphinha’s Bayern hat-trick is proof of his newfound confidence and Barcelona transformation

Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich (Raphinha x3, Lewandowski; Kane)

Anything Real Madrid could do, Barcelona did better.

And anything Vinicius Jr could do, Brazil team-mate Raphinha did better.

The Spanish top-flight leaders were excellent against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, led by captain Raphinha and they blew the Bundesliga giants away with an emphatic victory.

Two impressive performances leading into today's Clasico...

The post-match discussion at the Bernabeu on Tuesday evening was dominated by two things: Vinicius Jr and the Ballon d'Or.

Having picked up the matchball following a devastating attacking display, the Real Madrid supporters made it very clear who they were backing to win football's best individual trophy.

The Athletic's Mario Cortegana looked at his chances after another dazzling performance — check it out below.

GO FURTHER

Vinicius Junior: The match ball, the MVP trophy and a Ballon d’Or to follow on Monday?

Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund (Rudiger, Vinicius Jr x3, Vazquez; Malen, Gittens)

There is something about Real Madrid and the Champions League, and that 'something' is that always seem to win.

They made a rotten start on Tuesday evening, finding themselves 2-0 down against Borussia Dortmund at home.

But then a sprinkle of that magic Bernabeu dust saw the reigning champions turned the game around emphatically in the final half hour.

Vinicius Jr stole the show with a sublime hat-trick while there were also goals from Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez.

Dare I say a Ballon d'Or-worthy performance from the 24-year-old Brazilian.

GO FURTHER

Real Madrid 5 Borussia Dortmund 2: Vinicius Jr inspires yet another Champions League comeback

We'd love to hear from you.

Whether it's a pre-match prediction, a tactical trend you think no one else has spotted, or if you just want to ask us a question, you can do so via our email: [email protected].

We'll feature the best of your comments and observations in this live blog.

Get involved.

While the midweek match came at a personnel cost for Madrid, it had the exact opposite effect for Barcelona.

Midfield trio Gavi, Dani Olmo and Frenkie de Jong are all back to fitness and available, but they all might find themselves among the substitutes again.

Youngsters Pedri, Marc Casado and Fermin Lopez were excellent against Bayern Munich, so Hansi Flick would be a brave man to make any changes there.

Elsewhere, Barca are without Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal and Ferran Torres.

There were two significant casualties from Real Madrid's thrilling midweek comeback win against Borussia Dortmund.

Rodrygo and Thibaut Courtois were both injured in the match and have been ruled out of today's Clasico.

There are two other absentees for the hosts as David Alaba and Dani Carvajal are unavailable, the latter ruled out for the rest of the season.

Brahim Diaz may return after recovering from his own injury, but will likely only make the bench.

Spain is not just special for its football, but also its food. The country has 17 autonomous regions and each has its unique gastronomy, from pintxos to paella and much more besides.

I was happy to oblige when The Athletic set me the task of charting where to eat the best local dishes in the 10 of those regions currently represented by La Liga clubs.

This article is the result of countless trips to grounds across the country. The hope is you can refer to it if you’re lucky enough to travel to watch a game in Spain this season.

So, without further ado, let me take you on a gastronomic tour of La Liga 2024-25…

GO FURTHER

A gastronomic guide to La Liga: Pintxos, paella and much more besides

We are 10 games into the season and Barcelona have been almost faultless, taking 27 points from a possible 30.

Real Madrid have been beaten once more than their big rivals, so are three points behind them in second.

Carlo Ancelotti's side need to beat Barca by five goals to go above them today, so I think we're safe to assume it will be Hansi Flick's men top of the table at full time regardless of the result.

Beneath the two Spanish giants are Madrid's city rivals Atletico while Villarreal, Athletic Club and Mallorca make up the rest of the European qualification places.