Barcelona require a single point against Real Madrid tonight to retain the Liga title.
Hansi Flick’s side have topped the table for much of the season and go into the game as heavy favourites against a Madrid side without the injured Kylian Mbappe and seemingly beset by dressing room discord.
A petition calling on the club to sell Mbappe has reached nearly 70 million signatures, but of more concern to the club hierarchy will be the damaging stories of infighting among an expensively assembled squad.
After Alvaro Carreras revealed he had a confrontation with Antonio Rudiger, tensions between club captain Federico Valverde and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni erupted on Thursday as the two reportedly came to blows.
Uruguayan Valverde suffered a head injury and was left needing stitches, his injuries ruling him out of the Clasico. Both players received €500,000 fines.
Neither player was suspended for their part in the incident, meaning Tchouameni will be available to face a Barca side without star Lamine Yamal because of a hamstring injury he suffered against Celta Vigo last month.
Where to watch Barca v Real Madrid: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 1 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.
A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.
Barcelona v Real Madrid stats
- The only occasion on which a Clasico has decided the title was during the 1931/32 season, when Madrid drew 2-2 on the final matchday of the campaign to beat Athletic Club to glory
- None of the last 12 La Liga meetings between the teams have been a draw, which is the longest run without a league Clasico finishing level since a run of 18 matches between 1977 and 1986 (10 Madrid wins, eight Barcelona)
- Barcelona’s current run of 10 La Liga wins is their best run under Hansi Flick and puts the German on course to become the fifth coach in the club’s history to collect 11 consecutive league victories, after Pep Guardiola (a run of 16 and another of 11), Frank Rijkaard (14), Luis Enrique (12) and Tito Vilanova (11)
- Flick could join Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde as the 21st-century coaches to have won the league in both of their first two seasons in charge of Barca
- Victory would make Flick the second Barcelona coach this century to win his first two home La Liga matches against Madrid, after Guardiola (first three)
- Barca have scored in each of their last 54 games in La Liga, since a 1-0 defeat at home to Leganes in December 2024
- Madrid have won eight of their last 12 La Liga meetings with Barcelona (L4), which is as many as they were victorious in across their previous 32 Clasico matches in the competition (W8 D7 L17).
- They have lost two of their last five La Liga away games (W2 D1), which is as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 17 on the road in the competition (W12 D3 L2)
- Alvaro Arbeloa’s first Clasico gives him a chance to become the fifth Madrid coach to win away in their first managerial experience of the fixture, after Jose Quirante in 1929 (2-1), Carlos Queiroz in 2003 (2-1), Bernd Schuster in 2007 (1-0) and Zinedine Zidane in 2016 (2-1)
- Vinicius Junior has eight goals in 23 appearances against Barcelona in all competitions, only scoring more against Valencia and Osasuna (nine)
