Real Madrid predicted lineup vs. Barcelona (4-1-2-3): Courtois; Valverde, Militão, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouaméni; Bellingham, Güler; Mastantuono, Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior. Barcelona are in the middle of an extensive injury crisis. Joan García, Marc-André ter Stegen, Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo are all stuck in the infirmary.

Vinícius Júnior has struck twice and Kylian Mbappé scored before going off injured as Real Madrid beat third-placed Villarreal 3-1 to move on top of La Liga.

Xabi Alonso is reportedly interested in a Serie A player and could be willing to let go of any Real Madrid star — except Kylian Mbappe — to bring him in.

The football scene awakens this Thursday with the analysis of the recent Champions League matchday and the tension of internal conflicts in LaLiga. Real Madrid approaches the upcoming Clásico with

La Liga president Javier Tebas didn’t explicitly name Real Madrid during a lengthy social media post lamenting the cancelation of the Miami-based league fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona, but didn’t deploy much subtlety when accusing certain forces of “killing the project.”