Barcelona v Real Madrid: El Clásico – live

8.03pm GMT

First half We’re off!

7.58pm GMT

Here we go, then. José Mourinho’s first clásico since 2013 is about to kick off. It could be a busy night for the referee, Juan Martínez.

7.49pm GMT

“In preparation for today’s clásico, I watched the Liverpool-Brighton match,” writes Chris Amirault. “Happy to see Ronald Araújo storming around Anfield and getting some of the biggest cheers of the game. He’s a special player who struggled mentally last year (and bravely went public about it). One can’t help but smile seeing his loan away from Barça play out so successfully.”

7.48pm GMT

Richard Hirst asks: “Can we add this to Peter’s bingo card? … Points out he’s only been the manager for 35 seconds.” A fair shout.

7.42pm GMT

Peter Oh has prepared a José Mourinho bingo card for tonight’s game …

- Berates fourth official- Kicks water bottle- Pinches someone’s cheeks- Pokes someone in a sneaky manner- Applauds sarcastically- Winks knowingly- Runs down the touchline - Claims to not want to talk about the referee- Talks about the referee

7.36pm GMT

This is the 265th clásico, and the all-time lead is up for grabs: Barcelona and Real Madrid have both won this fixture 106 times. There have also been 52 draws, but none since March 2020 – a record run of 21 games.

7.32pm GMT

Form guide: Barcelona are seeking their 10th straight win to start the league season, which would eclipse Real Madrid’s record from 1968. Hansi Flick’s side are on a 23-game home winning run in La Liga, but did suffer defeat to PSG in the Champions League in midweek.

As for Real Madrid, they thumped Leipzig 4-1 at the Bernabéu but their problems in La Liga have come on the road, with defeats to Atlético and Betis. The clubs’ recent head-to-head record is very much in favour of Barça: they’ve won six of the last seven meetings.

7.23pm GMT

Just over 30 minutes to go – here’s how the La Liga title race stands before kick-off.

Pos Team P GD Pts 1 Barcelona 9 30 27 2 Atletico Madrid 10 12 25 3 Real Madrid 9 14 21 4 Real Betis 10 2 20 5 Real Sociedad 10 1 19 Updated at 7.27pm GMT

6.59pm GMT

Some essential pre-match reading, from Sid Lowe.

Related: Older, calmer, but still playing the hits: Mourinho and Madrid primed for clásico

6.53pm GMT

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan García; João Cancelo, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Xavi Espart; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Fermín López, Gordon; Raphinha.

Subs: Szczesny, Livakovic, Balde, Fariñas, Gavi, De Jong, Bernal, Adeyemi, Abdelkarim, Campos, Goren.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Lunin; Valverde (c), Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Bernardo Silva; Diomande, Bellingham, Arda Güler; Mbappé.

Subs: Mestre, Illia, Militão, Camavinga, Endrick, Alexander-Arnold, Carreras, Espí, Brahim Díaz, Rüdiger, Dumfries, Thiago.

6.43pm GMT

Tonight’s game also takes place against a weekend of unrest in Barcelona. There were 128 arrests overnight for acts of “vandalism, damage to public property and looting” in the city centre, according to the regional Catalan police.

The match is still going ahead, with an increased security presence already in place after the game was deemed “high-risk” by police last week. Back in 2019, this fixture was postponed due to protests in Barcelona.

6.35pm GMT

We’ll have full team news shortly, but Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois has already been ruled out of tonight’s game due to illness. “Courtois is a last-minute withdrawal (from the squad) due to a bout of the flu,” Madrid said in a statement. The Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is set to step in for Mourinho’s side.

6.30pm GMT

Preamble Is the clásico making a comeback? A bitter rivalry that has raged for more than a century, Barcelona v Real Madrid may have been the world’s biggest sporting fixture during the era of Ronaldo and Messi, Mourinho and Guardiola. Incredibly skilful players dragged into extraordinarily spiteful on-pitch battles, each game felt like a heavyweight title fight.

These two teams remain the dominant forces in Spain, and their mutual hatred of one another is still very much intact. Still, the clásico has lost some of its intensity in recent years – but there are signs it may be coming back. Chief among those signs is Mourinho’s dramatic return to Real Madrid, where he is rebuilding the media war that wore both coaches out at the end of the rivalry’s unmissable age.

There is also, crucially, a touch of jeopardy about tonight’s game, particularly for the visitors. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have started the league season with nine straight wins and are six points ahead of Madrid; that gap could be nine points, or three points, after tonight’s events at Camp Nou. The outcome may depend on Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, two exceptional players poised to dominate this derby for the next decade.

In short, the biggest game in world football is back. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, 9pm local time, so get comfortable.