Real Madrid vs Barcelona live stream and match preview, Sunday October 16, 3.15pm BST
Real Madrid vs Barcelona match preview
Looking for a Real Madrid vs Barcelona live stream? We've got you covered.
Arguably the biggest game in world football is back, and you can't miss it.
Barcelona and Real Madrid currently sit first and second in La Liga respectively, after eight games played. Both sides are unbeaten, having drawn one game and winning the others.
While Barça currently have the upper hand due to goal difference, teams on the same points in Spain are actually separated by their head-to-head record that season – meaning that these clashes mean all the more when things are tight.
Neither side goes into this game on a high, however.
Barcelona fell to a home draw after a late equaliser in a breathless game with Inter Milan at the Camp Nou midweek, while Los Blancos suffered their own embarrassing stalemate with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Barça have conceded just once so far in the league, but are currently suffering an injury crisis in defence, with Ronaldo Araujo, Hector Bellerin and Andreas Christensen all out. Jules Kounde should return, but forward Memphis Depay will also miss the game with injury.
Midfielder Frenkie De Jong has recently been relegated to the bench – a move that has left him "disgusted" and rekindled the possibility of a move to Manchester United.
For Madrid, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is expected to continue his absence, while Ballon d'Or favourite Karim Benzema is yet to reach the heights of last season so far this term.
Real Madrid starting line-up
4-3-3: Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Tchouameni, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Barcelona starting line-up
4-3-3: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Garcia, Balde; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Form
Real Madrid: DWDWW
Barcelona: DWLWW
Referee
Sanchez Martinez will be the referee for Real Madrid vs Barcelona.
Stadium
Real Madrid vs Barcelona will be played at the Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain.
Other games
Real Madrid vs Barcelona is the second La Liga game on Sunday.
Celta Vigo vs Real Sociedad is the early kick-off, while Espanyol vs Vallodolid, Real Betis vs Almeria and Villarreal vs Osasuna all take place after the Clasico.
Kick-off and channel
Kick-off is at 3.15pm BST on Sunday October 16 and it is being shown on Premier Sports 1 and La Liga TV in the UK. See below for international broadcast options.
VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch La Liga football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of La Liga fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, and FourFourTwo currently recommends:
International La Liga TV rights
• UK: Premier Sports and La Liga TV show all La Liga games, from £9.99 a month.
• USA: La Liga games are being shown on ESPN from $9.99 a month. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription you'll also be able to watch a number of Premier League games.
• Canada: The way to watch La Liga football in 2022/23 is TSN, which has exclusive English-language rights to all the action. You can get a subscription from $16.66 a month.
• Australia: Optus Sport has the rights to La Liga games, as well as the Premier League, from $6.99 a month. Non-subscribers can access the action via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
• New Zealand: Sky Sport will show La Liga games, as well as all Premier League games, EFL and the Champions League, from $25.99 a month.
