Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 17:00 GMT.
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Sport → bring → GMT
For weeks La Liga leaders Barcelona have been eagerly awaiting Sunday’s El Clasico as a chance to stretch the gap between themselves and rivals Real Madrid to a massive nine points.
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Barcelona → await → points
Some turbulence in the final approach to the clash at Camp Nou has complicated the picture for Hansi Flick’s Spanish champions, who suffered their first defeat of the season at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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who → complicate → Tuesday
By contrast, Real Madrid have won four consecutive matches, thrashing RB Leipzig on Wednesday and starting to look, for the first time since Jose Mourinho’s arrival this summer, like a team.
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Madrid → win → team
Should Real come away with a win, it would not only halve the current six-point gap, but provide a much-needed confidence boost for a side that has lost six of the last seven Clasicos.
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that → come → Clasicos
Mourinho’s return to the fixture will attract the most attention of all.
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return → attract → all
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez first appointed Mourinho as manager in 2010 to compete with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, and he will hope the Portuguese can wrest the La Liga title back to the Bernabeu for a second time.
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Portuguese → appoint → time
Mourinho’s first spell at Real coincided with arguably the most heated encounters in the modern history of El Clasico, and there will be numerous cameras trained on his every move at Camp Nou on Sunday.
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spell → coincide → Sunday
The Portuguese manager won just once in his first 10 El Clasicos but went unbeaten in his final five games against Barcelona, recording three victories.
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manager → win → victories
Unfair to compare us with Barca, Mourinho says
Flick’s Barca have won back-to-back La Liga titles and lead the top flight, in which they are unbeaten, while Mourinho arrived this summer after Madrid went two seasons without a major trophy.
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Madrid → compare → trophy
Mourinho highlighted that he has been at the helm only a few months in comparison with Flick, who arrived at Barca in 2024.
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who → highlight → 2024
“People look at us like a finished product, but finished products in football are difficult because they are never finished, … but they look at us like we’re in an advanced phase of the process,” Mourinho continued.
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Mourinho → look → process
“We’ve been working for three months.
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We → work → months
Out of that you can take preseason when the players were arriving [back from the World Cup] and the recent international break.
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players → take → Cup
We’re in an initial phase where the coach is learning, analysing, bit by bit defining paths.
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coach → ’re → paths
The players are learning about the coach. …
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players → learn → coach
Comparing a team in this state [to more established sides], I think is unfair.”
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I → compare → sides
Flick praises Mourinho before clash
The German coach said he expected a Madrid side arriving with “a lot of confidence” and praised Mourinho.
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side → praise → Mourinho
When you’re managing teams on this level for so many years and you always have success, it’s about quality.
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it → manage → quality
He showed this at every club,” Flick told reporters.
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Flick → show → reporters
“Every player from the [German] national team who worked under him speaks with a great respect.
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who → work → respect
I think the same.
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I → think → same
He’s a colleague, a very, very successful colleague and a great colleague.”
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He → ’ → ?
Flick said the 4-2 defeat in Paris by PSG on Tuesday gave his team some clues as to where they need to improve.
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they → say → clues
“We analysed this game.
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We → analyse → game
We did many things really good, but we saw some situations where we have to improve,” Flick said.
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Flick → do → situations
“We have to grow as a team.
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We → have → team
Tomorrow we play against one of the best teams in the world, so it’s a good opportunity to grow, to challenge ourselves, to improve ourselves and to grow as a team.”
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it → play → team
It is the best match in our sport, and everyone will watch it.
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everyone → watch → it
It is true that we are playing for just three points, but the importance of the match goes far beyond that.”
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importance → play → that
Mourinho: “We’ve been in a good dynamic, winning games, playing well, scoring goals, but in El Clasico, it doesn’t matter what you did before.
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you → win → what
It has no influence.
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It → have → influence
Normally, the football world stops to watch it.
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world → stop → it
Hopefully, it’s a great game and we win.
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we → ’ → ?
How have Barcelona played this season?
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Barcelona → play → season
Barcelona have a perfect record in La Liga with nine wins from nine games.
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Barcelona → have → games
Their only defeat in all competitions this season came in the last match, in which they fell 4-2 to title holders PSG in the Champions League league phase.
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they → come → phase
How have Real Madrid played this season?
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Madrid → play → season
They have won seven league games but lost to Atletico Madrid and Real Betis.
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They → win → Madrid
However, Real have made a perfect start in the UCL, registering two wins in as many matches.
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Real → make → matches
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
