The second Clasico of the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander season is here. Welcome along to our Real Madrid vs Barcelona live blog, where we’ll have all the updates from the Estadio Di Stefano in Valdebebas, which will be hosting this fixture for the first time. Ahead of the game, we’ll have details on the build-up right here, before we’ll have minute-by-minute updates during the match itself. All of this live blog’s updates follow the below image of Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi, with the most recent entries towards the top.
REAL MADRID VS BARCELONA LIVE
This is our Clasico live blog for the actual match. Over the past couple of days, we have also had a Clasico build-up live blog and now the updates for the game itself will be found below. It is a huge fixture in the LaLiga Santander title race, with leaders Atletico Madrid currently on 66 points, second-placed Barcelona on 65 and third-placed Real Madrid on 63. Let’s see what happens in this one!
20:25 CEST: Did you know? The Di Stefano is the 12th stadium to host a Clasico
The setting for this Clasico is quite different, as the game will be held at Real Madrid‘s temporary home of the Estadio Di Stefano. This will be the 12th different stadium to host a competitive Clasico. The other stadiums to host this match have been: Bernabeu (98 Clasicos), Camp Nou (88), Les Corts (30), Chamartin (17), Metsalla (3), O’Donnell (3), Metropolitano (2), Velodromo Parque Deportes: (1), Vicente Calderon (1), La Romareda (1), Hipodromo Castellana (1).
20:10 CEST: Laporta and Florentino Perez meet again
One of the really interesting dynamics of this Clasico is that Joan Laporta is back in the presidential box. Of course, we all remember his famous poster just outside the Bernabeu that launched his electoral campaign. He said he was keen to see Real Madrid again and that’s exactly what he’ll do tonight. During his previous tenure as president, Barcelona‘s record in Clasicos was seven victories, two draws and five defeats from 14 meetings.
19:50 CEST: No Pique in Barcelona’s line-up
We were all wondering if Gerard Pique would play in this game, but he is not in the starting line-up. And neither is Antoine Griezmann, who’ll watch on as this Clasico kicks off just like he used to do when he was an Atletico Madrid player. The complete Barcelona line-up is as follows: Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergino Dest, Oscar Mingueza, Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele.
19:45 CEST: Zidane brings in Valverde for Real Madrid’s XI
We have the Real Madrid XI! There is one change from the side that beat Liverpool in midweek, as Fede Valverde comes in for Marco Asensio to offer an extra body in midfield. The complete Real Madrid line-up is as follows: Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, Nacho, Ferland Mendy; Casemiro, Fede Valverde, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos; Vinicius, Karim Benzema.
19:30 CEST: Who is going to win? Real Madrid or Barcelona?
This is the big question. Who is going to win this Saturday night’s Clasico? We want you to have your say, so tell us in the below poll if you’re expecting a Real Madrid victory or for Barcelona to take the three points.
19:15 CEST: The refereeing change
There was a pre-match injury that didn’t actually affect either of the teams. Antonio Mateu Lahoz was supposed to be in charge, but suffered a muscular injury after his midweek Champions League match. As such, he has been replaced by Jesus Gil Manzano for this game. This is his first Clasico since 2014.
19:00 CEST: What time does El Clasico start?
This game will begin at 21:00 CEST on the Spanish mainland. In the UK, that’s 20:00 BST and in the USA that is 15:00 EDT. Both clubs have created graphics where more time zones are outlined, to help fans know exactly when the game kicks off.
