Brace yourself for the cliche, but it’s never friendly when these two Spanish giants meet.
It’s El Clasico time in the States, with Barcelona taking on Real Madrid at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night.
We’ve seen a new look for Los Blancos this summer as manager Carlo Ancelotti changes direction following the departure of Karim Benzema. Problems began to appear with the Italian midfield diamond, but Real have still won both of their pre-season meetings so far – beating Man Utd 2-0 in their last game.
Conversely, Barcelona’s summer was marred by a bout of viral gastroenteritis which delayed their clash with Juventus and their rustiness was on full display against Arsenal. The Gunners, who are four games deep into pre-season, beat Xavi’s side 5-3 in Los Angeles.
Barcelona team news
Despite his squad being ravaged by illness at the start of their tour, Xavi was able to field 23 players in their defeat to Arsenal.
Alejandro Balde surprisingly earned minutes when it was thought an ankle injury would keep him out of action, while Jules Kounde, a doubt for Wednesday’s game, played the second half. Both players could start against Real.
Inigo Martinez is likely to miss out due to injury, but that should be Xavi’s only notable absence.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Real Madrid
(4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; De Jong, Pedri, Gundogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi.
Real Madrid team news
Ancelotti has been experimenting with a midfield diamond this summer following Benzema’s departure and the Italian will likely stick with this system against Barça.
However, the boss will likely rotate his pack from the 2-0 victory over Man Utd. Eder Militao, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Ferland Mendy and Joselu could all earn starts in the summer Clasico.
Arda Guler is also in contention to make his Los Blancos debut after missing the first two games of the tour due to a leg injury.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Barcelona
(4-1-2-1-2): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Kroos; Valverde, Bellingham; Diaz; Joselu, Vinicius Jr.