HALA MADRID: Courtois says no Messi nightmare; Will we see Kroos go back in XI?

Hello Merengues, we bring you all-important Real Madrid news in the past 24 hours. Hala Madrid!

EL CLASICO IS COMING!

Madrid Squad for El Clasico

Benzema leads 19-man Madrid squad for El Clasico as Mariano included, Jovic out.

And here is Barca squad

Messi & Pique lead squad for El Clasico, Alba & Braithwaite in.

El Clasico to be broadcasted live in 182 countries

The potential audience of Madrid-Barça tonight at Santiago Bernabéu which will be broadcast on 210 channels, is more than 650 million.

El Clasico stat about Zidane

The manager has never suffered three consecutive defeats while in charge at the Bernabéu, although he has been close on three occasions.

VOICE

Courtois: No Messi nightmare

"Do I think of Messi before this Clasico? No, not really." Courtois told Eleven Sports.

"It was the case during my first season with Atlético, especially when you play Camp Nou for the first time, with all these stars. At that moment, if you don’t think about it, it is because something is wrong with you."

"But today, I don’t think about it anymore. For me, Messi, he is a player like any other."

Zidane: We know the importance of Messi

"We know the importance of Messi in their team," Zidane said.

"He's a fundamental player for them, but they're good in every way.

"They're a team that do things very well."

Setien: This Clasico much more important for Madrid

"The past counts for nothing now, as every match is different," he said in his pre-match press conference.

"This is an important game for us for the lead we can take in the table.

"It's a key, maybe not decisive, game for them, but it's more important for them than it is for us because if we win then we'll go five points clear.

Rivaldo: Zidane made mistake

Rivaldo believes that Vinicius' withdrawal played a key part in City's victory.

"Zinedine Zidane made a mistake by replacing Vinicius Junior when Madrid were still winning because the Brazilian was taking the game to City and relieving the pressure on Madrid's defence," 

"He was playing well, and the team went backwards after he was withdrawn, allowing the Citizens to push forward and score two goals that could be decisive in the tie.

CLASSICAL MOMENTS

Top 25 classical gestures in El Clasico

The rivalry between Madrid and Barca could be labelled as the most intense in European football, with fights, gestures and provocations on and off the pitch very frequent. Click here to read the full article >>

IN-DEPTH

Florentino & Zidane know the importance of El Clasico

The day has come. Click here to read the full article >>

Jovic's future at Madrid in danger

The decision by Madrid head coach Zidane not to include Luka Jovic is based on sporting grounds with the forward only playing for 6 minutes since scoring in Pamplona. Click here to read the full article >>

MATCHDAY(CET)

Today is Matchday!!