Confirmed: Real Madrid starting lineup to face Barcelona

Confirmed: Real Madrid starting lineup to face Barcelona After a mixed start to the new season, Real Madrid will have an opportunity to bridge the gap at the top of the league table to just three points as they take on leaders Barcelona tonight. It will be an important match for Jose Mourinho, who will be facing Barça for the first time after returning to the Madrid dugout. Ahead of the match, Real Madrid have announced their starting lineup that will take on Hansi Flick’s men at Camp Nou tonight. The big change in the Real Madrid setup is the absence of Thibaut Courtois, who has been ruled out due to a flu . The Belgian has been replaced by Andriy Lunin, who has a big night ahead of him. Mourinho has made a couple of changes in defence, with Marc Cucurella replacing Alvaro Carreras at left-back while Antonio Rudiger makes way for Ibrahima Konate in central defence. Most importantly, Federico Valverde continues at right-back, ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Denzel Dumfries. The midfield remains unchanged with Aurelien Tchouameni and Bernardo Silva operating in the double-pivot, with additional support from Jude Bellingham. Bellingham, though, will play a critical role in the attacking unit. The same can be said for the two wide attackers in Arda Guler and Yan Diomande while Kylian Mbappe spearheads the Real Madrid frontline. Vinicius Jr. is not eligible to play this game after being slapped with a four-match domestic suspension. That means the onus will be on in-form Diomande to deliver once again while Guler has an oustanding opportunity to further establish himself as a more regular starter. Mourinho has a few strong options on the bench, including the two super subs in Carlos Espi and Endrick while Eder Militao could be a defensive option later on in the game if Real Madrid are forced to defend a lead.