Barcelona missing two players for Real Madrid contest

Pedri has been left out of the Barcelona squad for Sunday's La Liga clash with Real Madrid.

The Spain international has missed the team's last six matches with the hamstring problem that he picked up against Manchester United in the Europa League last month.

Pedri has recently returned to first-team training, and he had been expected to return in El Clasico.

The 20-year-old suffered a fitness setback during Friday's training session, though, and the key midfielder has therefore been left out of the squad for the league fixture.

Pedri is joined on the sidelines by Ousmane Dembele, with the France international not yet ready to return from a hamstring problem of his own.

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As a result, there is just one returning player from the squad that took part against Athletic Bilbao last weekend, with Ronald Araujo back in the selection following a suspension.

Speaking during his press conference on Saturday afternoon, Barcelona boss Xavi revealed that he was not prepared to risk Pedri unless he was 100%.

"These are matches where you need to be at 100%. If the feelings are not good, there is no need to impose anything. It is not a final match and there will still be 12 matches left, it is not decisive. We don't want to lose Pedri for another two months," said the manager.

"We can rise to the best level even in the absence of Pedri and Dembele. We did that before with the absence of [Robert] Lewandowski and Pedri."

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Barcelona are currently nine points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the table, so a victory on Sunday would put them in a commanding position heading into the final straight.

"We will try to have control with the ball. We want to be better than the Copa del Rey match. Real Madrid have been doing very well lately," said Xavi when asked about El Clasico.

"I think it's 50-50. We have our fans and they will support us, but I think tomorrow's game is 50% for both teams. If we win tomorrow, it'll be a very important victory. It certainly will not decide the league, though."

Barcelona's recent elimination from the Europa League means that they have not been in action since recording a 1-0 victory over Athletic in the league last Sunday, with Raphinha netting the only goal of the contest.

Barcelona squad vs. Real Madrid:

Ter Stegen, Pena, Tenas; Araujo, Christensen, Alonso, Alba, Kounde, E Garcia, Balde; Busquets, Gavi, Kessie, Roberto, De Jong, Torre; Alarcon, Raphinha, F Torres, Fati, Lewandowski