Barcelona vs Real Madrid line-ups: confirmed team news, XIs predicted, latest injury for tonight’s El Clasico clash

The Camp Nou clash could give the Blaugrana a 12-point lead over Real in the LaLiga title race as they have just 12 games left this season.

However, Xavi will be without key midfielder Pedri, who was keen to return in time for the game from a hamstring injury despite conflicting reports about his fitness.

While Spanish newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo initially reported on the 20-year-old’s involvement in El Clasico, Marca and AS painted a more pessimistic picture.

A big indication of Pedri’s availability came on Friday night when he withdrew from Spain’s international squad later that month. He was then dropped from Barca’s squad for tonight’s game.

Ousmane Dembele is out for Barcelona after top scorer Robert Lewandowski returned from injury for last week’s win at Athletic Club. Uruguay defender Ronald Araujo is also back from suspension today.

Meanwhile, Real had again been nervously awaiting Karim Benzema’s fitness after suffering a knock mid-week.

The 35-year-old limped shortly after scoring the winning goal in the Champions League round of 16 second leg win over Liverpool and missed Friday’s training session. However, he is considered fit for El Clasico.

Ferland Mendy is back in the Madrid squad but David Alaba and Alvaro Rodriguez are unavailable.

Estimated Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Araujo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, DeJong; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Torres.

Estimated Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Ruediger, Mendy; Modric, Chouameni, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.