TEAM NEWS
Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois will return in goal with Keylor Navas making way, while others could come back into the fold following Madrid's humiliation in midweek. Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio will be pushing for starts on the flanks while Marcelo could return at left-back for Sergio Reguilon. Raphael Varane injured his knee on Wednesday but should recover to partner Sergio Ramos in central defence. Marcos Llorente will miss out with a muscular problem.
Barcelona
Manager Ernesto Valverde could opt to keep the same front three that excelled against Madrid last time out, although Philippe Coutinho will be pushing for a start, having not played recently. Samuel Umtiti has returned from a knee injury and was a substitute in midweek, meaning he could return to partner Gerard Pique this evening.
MANAGERS' THOUGHTS
Real Madrid manager Santiago Solari on the game against Barcelona in midweek and Gareth Bale:
"They [Barcelona] only shot twice on goal. We did things very well and it's difficult to say so when you look at the result. Scoring at the right time changes games, but it doesn't help at all to go over that again because it forms part of the imagination and we don't deal with hypotheses."
"Titles are won by whole squads. Bale has played in every game since returning from injury and he is scoring goals. He did it in the Club World Cup and in the Champions League final too."
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde on Messi and his side's performance in midweek:
“I think he [Messi] is in good shape, very good shape.You always expect a lot of your players, Messi included. He always performs even though in some games he performs less than in others. We have to play well in order for him to perform.”
“It’s true that the other day there were spells when we did not play well, they [Real Madrid] kept arriving in our area and looked dangerous, and we only created two or three chances. The aim is always to improve and create more chances."
FORM GUIDE
DID YOU KNOW?
Real Madrid have beaten Barcelona more than any other team in La Liga (72 times)
But Los Blancos have failed to beat Barcelona in their last five league meetings
Barcelona have scored in each of their last 22 league games with Real Madrid
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Ceballos, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Vinicius.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Umtiti, Pique, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Dembele, L Suarez, Messi.