October 26th 2024.
Real Madrid will be facing Barcelona without two key players, Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo, due to injuries. Courtois, who played a full game earlier this week and helped secure a 5-2 win against Borussia Dortmund, has been sidelined with a hip injury. The team released a statement on Wednesday confirming the injury and ruling him out of the upcoming El Clasico match. It is also expected that he will miss their La Liga game against Valencia on November 2 and their Champions League match against AC Milan on November 5.
In Courtois' absence, Andriy Lunin will be stepping in as the goalkeeper, making his third appearance of the season. Madrid will also be without Rodrygo, who suffered a hamstring injury during the win against Dortmund. The team confirmed his injury in a statement on Thursday, ruling him out of the upcoming match.
Barcelona, who currently sit at the top of La Liga with a three-point lead over Madrid, have been performing strongly this season under the leadership of Hansi Flick. They recently secured a 4-1 victory against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, with Brazilian forward Raphinha scoring a hat-trick.
During a press conference, Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the upcoming match and the strong start Barcelona has had this season. "Barcelona have a clear way of playing and they are doing a good job," he said. "They are a brave team and we need to prepare well in order to play at our best. We will need to be fully focused and perform well both with and without the ball." When asked about Barcelona's player Lamine Yamal, Ancelotti praised his performance and attitude, but also emphasized the importance of focusing on their own team's strengths.
"We have a lot of respect for Barcelona and their strong start to the season," Ancelotti added. "But we also need to focus on our own game plan and what we can bring to the match. It will be a tough game and we will need to perform at our best to come out with a win."
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