Kylian Mbappé playing against Málaga on 30 August 2026. Current-season photograph, not today's Clásico. Jester77aa08 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; cropped to fit.
Barcelona can turn a perfect league start into a piece of history tonight. Real Madrid can turn the title race back towards them. The first Clásico of the season arrives with six points separating the rivals — and a late setback for Madrid, who will be without Thibaut Courtois.
Kick-off at Spotify Camp Nou is 20:00 GMT in the UK, 21:00 CET in Spain, on Sunday 25 October. The clocks changed overnight, so it is worth checking your plans.
Ten wins would make history
Barça have won all nine league matches, scoring 39 goals. According to the club's official preview, victory tonight would make them the first side to win their opening ten games of a La Liga season, surpassing the nine-win start they currently share with Real Madrid's 1968–69 team.
That would also stretch their advantage over Madrid from six points to nine. An away win cuts it to three. There is a long season ahead, but those are very different Monday mornings for the two sets of supporters.
Hansi Flick's men do have a response to make. Tuesday's 4–2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain ended their winning start across all competitions. Their domestic form has been another matter: they beat Getafe 3–0 and Real Betis 5–2 in their two October league outings.
Madrid bring goals — but no Courtois
José Mourinho's side have won four successive matches, scoring 13 times. They followed victories over Villarreal and Roma with back-to-back 4–1 wins against Sevilla and RB Leipzig.
Mbappé leads Madrid's scoring with 12 goals this season. Arda Güler and Yan Diomande have each scored in the last two matches, giving the visitors more than one player arriving with confidence in front of goal.
But Madrid confirmed on Sunday that Courtois would miss the game because of flu, with Illia Voloshyn added in his place. Losing their first-choice goalkeeper is a significant setback against a Barcelona side averaging more than four league goals a game.
Big names missing on both sides
Barcelona's official match preview lists Dani Olmo and Jules Kounde among their absentees, alongside Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji. Madrid are also without the suspended Vinícius Júnior.
For Barça, the question is whether the attacking confidence of their league campaign holds up against their biggest rival. For Madrid, this is the chance to show that their October revival can carry them through their hardest test of the month.
Nine points or three: neither outcome settles the title, but either would change the conversation. That is plenty to play for before the first ball is kicked.
Follow our Barcelona–Real Madrid match centre and the La Liga table.
Sources: FC Barcelona match preview, Real Madrid match preview and Courtois update. Selection details remain subject to the clubs' final announcements.
