At 1am CEST on Sunday morning, the annual pre-season Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid will kick off in the United States. There’s sure to be nothing friendly between the two sides in New Jersey, as they aim for bragging rights going into the 2024-25 campaign.
Neither side will be at full strength, but there’ll still be plenty of quality on display. For Real Madrid, they are expected to hand Endrick Felipe his second start in a row, with Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo Goes playing alongside him in attack. Eder Militao returns in defence, and he will partner Antonio Rudiger centrally.
Barcelona will same a similar line-up to the one that started against Manchester City earlier this week. Inigo Martinez is expected to start in place of Sergi Dominguez, while Robert Lewandowski is also in line to replace Vitor Roque.
It should be a fiery occasion in New Jersey, despite it being a pre-season friendly. It will be Hansi Flick’s first taste of El Clasico, and it remains to be seen whether his Barcelona side can secure a victory to mark the occasion. Real Madrid would hope not, although the wider desire is match sharpness for all players involved.
