Real Madrid have suffered a major late blow hours before El Clasico, with first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois ruled out of tonight's clash with Barcelona at Camp Nou because of flu.
The club confirmed the news on Sunday morning, in a development first reported by Reuters. Courtois, 34, had played every game for Madrid this season — nine in La Liga and three in the Champions League — and his absence leaves Jose Mourinho without one of his most trusted players for the biggest match of the campaign so far.
Madrid's statement, quoted by Blaugranes, read: "Courtois is a last-minute absence due to a flu-like illness for tonight's match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, corresponding to the tenth matchday of La Liga. Illia Voloshyn has been called up in his place." Voloshyn joins Sergio Mestre as the goalkeepers in the travelling squad.
Lunin steps in — and his Clasico record is better than you think
Andriy Lunin is in line to replace Courtois at Camp Nou, in what would be his first appearance since the 2-0 win over Espanyol on May 3. The Ukrainian is no stranger to this fixture: he has faced Barcelona four times in a Madrid shirt, winning three of them — the 3-1 league win in October 2022, the 3-2 victory in April 2024 and the 4-1 Spanish Super Cup final win in January 2024. His only defeat was the 4-0 home loss in October 2024.
There is, however, one important caveat. All four of those games came away from Camp Nou — three at the Santiago Bernabeu and one in Saudi Arabia. Tonight is Lunin's first Clasico in Barcelona's own stadium, against a home attack that has helped Hansi Flick's side win all nine of their opening league matches.
A Madrid side already missing its other match-winner
Courtois is not the only star Mourinho must do without. Vinicius Junior remains suspended, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raul Asencio are injured, and Madrid arrive third in the table, six points behind Barcelona — and four behind second-placed Atletico Madrid after their win over Deportivo on Saturday, a result covered in our report on Atletico. Barcelona, for their part, are without Dani Olmo, Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, with Jules Kounde a major doubt, as set out in our full Clasico preview.
So what? The margin for error has just vanished
Courtois has so often been Madrid's Clasico insurance policy — the goalkeeper who keeps them in games they do not control, then watches Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham settle them at the other end. Without him, and without Vinicius, Mourinho's plan has to change: Madrid cannot afford the passive spells that Barcelona's press usually forces, because every spell of pressure now ends with a less experienced goalkeeper facing Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
The stakes were already stark. A Barcelona win tonight opens a nine-point gap at the top in October; a Madrid win cuts it to three and transforms the title race. Lunin's performance, one way or the other, is now likely to be a defining part of that story.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Losing Courtois on the morning of a Clasico is the worst kind of luck, but it is not an excuse Mourinho can hide behind — Lunin has won three of his four Clasicos and Madrid's season cannot be allowed to rest on one man's immune system. If Madrid are serious title contenders, tonight is exactly the night they prove it. Can Lunin rise to the occasion at Camp Nou, or will Barcelona's nine-point night begin in Madrid's goalmouth?
