Real Madrid v Barcelona: Team Line Ups, Coutinho left out

Barcelona head to the Bernabeu looking for a second win over Real Madrid in four days after the Catalan club thrashed their rivals 3-0 on Wednesday.

Valverde must decide whether to field Samuel Umtiti alongside Gerard Pique in central defence, with the Frenchman having recently returned from a serious knee problem.

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Jordi Alba will start at left-back while Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic are set to be joined by Arturo Vidal or Sergi Roberto in midfield.

Arthur is also fit and available, having come off the bench last time out, and offers another option for Valverde.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are certain to feature while Ousmane Dembele is expected to complete the attacking trio at the expense of Philippe Coutinho.

Malcom and Carles Alena offer further attacking options as substitutes, with both highly unlikely to start.

Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen are both out injured while Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sergi Samper have not been included in the squad.

Pre Match INSIGHTS

Barcelona have won more LaLiga games against Real Madrid than any other side (71), while Real Madrid have beaten Barcelona the most often in the competition (72).
Real Madrid are winless their last five league games versus Barcelona (D2 L3), their worst winless streak in El Clasico since December 2011 (seven games).
Barcelona could be the first team in competition history to win four consecutive La Liga away games versus Real Madrid (Atletico Madrid also three between 2013 and 2016).
Barcelona have scored in each of their last 22 league games against Real Madrid in La Liga (53 goals total). If they score in this game it will be the longest scoring record in El Clásico history in the competition – Real Madrid also scored in 22 consecutive games between 1959 and 1969.
A defeat in this game would see Real Madrid lose consecutive home games in LaLiga for the first time since January 2018 – they’ve already lost as many home games in the competition this season as they did in the whole of 2017-18 (three defeats).

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Real Madrid v Barcelona Team Line Ups

Real Madrid (4-3-3)