Courtois ruled out of El Clasico tonight as Madrid trail Barca by six
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois ruled out of tonight's El Clasico at Camp Nou due to flu, confirmed by club statement hours before kickoff. Manager Jose Mourinho starts Andriy Lunin in goal with Illia Voloshyn called up as backup. Los Blancos trail Barcelona by six points in LaLiga heading into matchday 10 — a loss stretches the gap to nine.
Courtois has started all nine league games this season, keeping four clean sheets. Lunin's last LaLiga start came in May 2024. The Ukrainian has just 12 league appearances across three seasons at Madrid. Voloshyn, 19, is yet to debut for the first team.
Barcelona enter on a seven-game winning streak across competitions. Robert Lewandowski leads LaLiga scoring with 11 goals. Madrid's attack has managed just 14 goals in nine matches — only Valladolid and Espanyol have fewer.
Kickoff is 9pm Nigerian time. Can Lunin handle the pressure of his first El Clasico, or does Courtois' absence hand Barcelona a psychological edge before a ball is kicked?