Alert at Real Madrid: Courtois misses the classic due to flu

Real Madrid has suffered a very important setback hours before the classic against Barça at the Camp Nou. The white team will not be able to count on Thibaut Courtois, since the white goalkeeper is out at the last minute due to a flu illness.

The Madrid club announced at eleven in the morning the significant loss of the Belgian goalkeeper, who will leave his place between the sticks to Andriy Lunin. The Ukrainian goalkeeper has not gained minutes yet this season and his last game dates back to May, when he kept a clean sheet in the 0-2 victory against Espanyol. On the bench will be Illia Voloshyn, who is in the squad to make up for Courtois' absence.

Bad news for José Mourinho in his first classic in this second stage at the helm of Real Madrid. A big setback for the Portuguese who loses his starting goalkeeper for one of the most important games of the year. It is the first duel that the Belgian goalkeeper has missed this season due to a flu illness that comes at the worst time.

With Lunin in goal, Real Madrid has never managed to keep a clean sheet in a classic. They have played four, with a balance of two wins and two losses, but conceding eight goals. The most recent precedent dates back to October 2024, when Barça handed him a painful 4-0 at the Bernabéu and the Ukrainian goalkeeper made several errors that left him singled out.

Tonight Barça has the opportunity to hit the table and reaffirm its leadership in LaLiga. The victory of Atlético de Madrid yesterday placed the Colchonero team two points behind the Blaugrana who, if they beat Madrid, would be five points behind Atlético and nine behind the white team.