Real Madrid will face Barcelona on Sunday night in the final Clasico of the 2025/26 season, and this is the Merengues last chance to save face against their great rivals, who would give their opponents the killer blow by confirming the title officially if Real do not win on Sunday.
All the while, the Royal Whites are mired in controversy. The locker room dust up between Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde means that Real Madrid will be without two of their most important players against the vaunted Barcelona midfield on Sunday. Fede is injured with a concussion after getting socked by the Frenchman, while Tchouameni will be suspended for the incident.
Real Madrid will have to call upon the likes of Eduardo Camavinga or Thiago PItarch to step up, and Jude Bellingham will have additional work to do defensively without Fede's engine next to him. It's a matchup ripe for the taking for Barcelona, who have dominated this fixture these last two seasons.
El Clasico will be tough for Real Madrid again
Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be getting one big return to the squad for the Clasico. According to a report from COPE, via the Madrid Zone, star striker Kylian Mbappe will be called up for the proceedings at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
For some Real Madrid fans, Mbappe's return will feel more like a subtraction than an addition, as Real have genuinely looked better of late without the big money man up top. To wit, with Mbappe out injured, Real just beat Barca's crosstown rivals Espanyol pretty convincingly last Sunday, staving off title defeat with a 2-0 victory that featured a brace from Vinicius Junior.
But Mbappe may not start. He will reportedly be called up for the squad, but it remains to be seen if he is ready to play after only just working this week to make it back from his latest injury. Mbappe has been a huge cause for controversy, but after what Fede and Tchou pulled these last two training sessions, Mbappe will be snickering as, once again, his teammates have given him the perfect shield for his own failings at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid will need someone to step up on Sunday, and while the attackers like Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. make all the headlines, the onus will be on the midfield. Players like Jude Bellingham and Camavinga have not been at their best this season, and they will have much more on their plate without Fede and Tchouameni.
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