Sunday to bring 1st 'El Clasico' since departure of Messi

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to go head-to-head in the first "El Clasico" since the departure of Lionel Messi, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

The 280th official edition of the derby will kick off at 1415GMT at Barca's home ground Camp Nou.

The last time the two Spanish sides met each other was in La Liga 2020-21 season, with Real Madrid tasting a 2-1 home win at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Out of the 279 clashes between both sides in the past, Barca slightly dominated the fixture with 115 wins compared to Real's 102. The remaining 62 matches have ended in draws.

Ronald Koeman's side will be playing without some of the players.

Ousmane Dembele, Martin Braithwaite, and Pedri, also known as Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, will not fight for Barca due to their injuries.

For Real Madrid, Dani Ceballos will be out of the match because of his injury.

First-place Real Sociedad have 20 points after nine games, while Real Madrid are the runner-up with 17 points, and Barcelona are in the seventh spot collecting 15 points after the same number of matches in the La Liga standings.