Barcelona have won all nine league games and lead the table by six points, and Madrid's first-choice goalkeeper will miss the match.
Real Madrid announced on Sunday that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will miss the Clásico at Camp Nou. The club's brief statement said: "Courtois is a last-minute withdrawal from tonight's LaLiga matchday 10 game between Real Madrid and Barcelona due to a bout of the flu."
Andriy Lunin, 27, will take over in goal from Courtois, 34, having acted as his regular backup in recent campaigns. The club has also called up a young keeper. "Illia Voloshyn has been called up to the squad in his place." Punch gives Voloshyn's age as 19.
ESPN's source said the squad were already in Barcelona, but Madrid were "not completely ruling out" Courtois travelling to join them later in the day if his condition were to improve significantly. Goal reported conflicting reports on whether he might still play, a call that rests on his medical examination.
Madrid go into the match six points behind leaders Barcelona, after losing twice in LaLiga this season, at Real Betis and Atletico Madrid. Barcelona have won all nine league games, scoring 39 goals and conceding nine. Only twice in their first 12 games of the season have Mourinho's side kept a clean sheet.
Courtois has been central to Madrid's recent form. ESPN credits him with a key role in the 4-1 Champions League win over RB Leipzig in midweek. Before the Clásico, Goal counts 12 matches for him across LaLiga and the Champions League, 1080 minutes, 14 goals conceded and 45 saves. Marca notes this is the first match he will miss this season since playing the first nine league rounds, and the third he has missed through flu or flu-related gastroenteritis.
Vinícius Júnior will also be absent, serving a four-game domestic ban. Madrid face defensive worries against a Barcelona attack firing on all cylinders. Lamine Yamal has 8 goals and 6 assists in his first nine league matches, according to Opta statistics cited by Goal.
Goal's analysis is that pressing from the front line and shrinking the spaces between the lines will prove decisive for Madrid.
Barcelona hope to make the match their tenth consecutive league win.
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