Barcelona’s record against Real Madrid’s backup goalkeeper offers hope and concern

Barcelona’s record against Real Madrid’s backup goalkeeper offers hope and concern Barcelona have received an unexpected boost on the day of El Clasico , and Real Madrid’s star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been ruled out of the game with the flu. The Belgian star is one of Los Blancos’ most important players on the field, and his absence seriously damages Real Madrid’s chances against Barcelona. After all, the Catalan attack has been imperious this season. In the veteran’s absence, Andriy Lunin is expected to start tonight and the Ukrainian star is no stranger to playing against Barcelona.  Good news for Barcelona Over the years, Lunin has played four big Clasicos against Barcelona and has won three with Real Madrid. His personal statistics, however, are not very encouraging, as reported by SPORT . Lunin’s record against Barcelona is not encouraging. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images) The Ukrainian star has never overseen a clean sheet against Barcelona, and while his first two appearances were quite decent, his more recent games against the Catalans provide Hansi Flick’s side reason to be optimistic. In the four games he has played against Barcelona, Lunin has conceded a staggering eight goals with an average of two per game. With Flick’s men already scoring goals for fun this season, Lunin’s entry in goal provides reason to further fuel their confidence. Lunin’s experiences The goalkeeper’s first game against Barcelona came back in October 2022 when Los Blancos took home a 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu. In January 2024, he played again and Real Madrid netted a 4-1 win over Barcelona. Lewandowski scored twice against the goalkeeper in Barcelona’s 4-0 win two years ago. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images) In his third appearance, which came in April 2024, Lunin made an obvious error that led to Andreas Christensen’s goal, putting the ball on a platter for the defender to score. Real Madrid did win the game 3-2, but Lunin’s performance came under scrutiny. In October 2024, he played his most recent game against Barcelona which went down in history for a 4-0 scoreline Flick’s men picked up. Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha all scored for the Catalans and Lunin was left helpless. Two years after that defeat, he once again faces Barcelona tonight. The Catalans, in that sense, have reason to be optimistic about their chances of delivering a statement win.