Madrid go to Camp Nou without their goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois is out of El Clásico with flu. Real Madrid confirmed it on Sunday, hours before facing Barcelona at Camp Nou in round ten of La Liga, and Illia Voloshyn was added to the squad in his place (1)(4). Andriy Lunin is in line to start (8). Nine league games into a season in which Madrid have conceded once at home in their last two, the biggest fixture of the autumn now rests on the man who has spent three years waiting for exactly this.
The plan changed three times in one day
Madrid's own announcement said he was out. AS reported he would travel to Barcelona if he improved, with a final assessment after lunch and a travel plan already drafted (5). Then Manolo Lama went on air: "Ahora resulta que puede jugar...es de locos, o de broma o de superhéroe" (6). Whatever the truth is, a squad that had no doubt who was playing in goal spent the day relearning the answer. Lunin is not a disaster. He is also not Courtois.
The form is real, and it is not the story
Four wins in five in all competitions, 13 goals in those four: 1–0 against Villarreal, 4–3 away to Roma in the Champions League, 4–1 over Sevilla, 4–1 over Leipzig (form guide). José Mourinho's side score in bursts and defend in patches. Third place on 21 points, one loss, the derby at the Metropolitano on 20 September. The attack is functioning. The margin for a keeper error is what changed on Sunday morning.
Barça's squad, and the ones who got away
Barcelona have absentees of their own for the Clásico (9), which is the one piece of news Madrid fans should read twice. Then there is Karim Adeyemi, offered to Madrid by Borussia Dortmund and declined, Yan Diomande chosen instead, now lining up for Barcelona (11). Rodri went the same way this summer, and Gerard Romero reported that Dani Carvajal advised against Madrid (10). Two midfield and wing targets in one opponent's shirt is a recruitment pattern, not a coincidence.
What to watch at Camp Nou
Kickoff is set for 21:00 CET at Camp Nou, and the team sheet at goalkeeper is the whole column. Then Racing Santander away on 1 November, AEK Athens away on 4 November, Valencia away on 7 November: three straight road games after Barcelona. If Lunin plays well, Madrid have a genuine number two and a Courtois recovery without panic. If he wobbles, the goalkeeper question follows this squad into November.
