It’s the first Clasico of the season on Sunday. Well, sort of.

Real Madrid and Barcelona butt heads in the early hours of the morning over in the United States, although the upcoming meeting is nothing more than a pre-season friendly. How friendly a match between these two fierce foes can ever be is debatable.

There is unlikely to be quite the same needle as a competitive fixture, especially given both sides are without a host of familiar faces. For Real Madrid, that includes superstar Jude Bellingham and new recruit Kylian Mbappe.

But why are the duo not playing against Barcelona this weekend?

Simply put, Mbappe and Bellingham are unavailable due to their involvement at Euro 2024 this summer.

The former Paris Saint-Germain forward is still recovering from a journey to the semi-final of the tournament with France and is yet to meet up with his new Madrid teammates. Mbappe will miss the entirety of the United States tour and it’s expected that his first outing in a white jersey will come in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta on 14 August in Warsaw, Poland.

Similarly, Bellingham is also recovering from a strenuous summer. The midfielder helped England reach the final of Euro 2024, although he was unable to guide them to glory in the showpiece event with Spain. He is likely to return for the UEFA Super Cup, too.

Madrid will be without a handful of key figures for their clash with Hansi Flick’s side, including the French trio of Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy. All three travelled to Euro 2024 and are still recovering ahead of the new season.

Surprise Ballon d’Or contender Dani Carvajal is also absent after winning Euro 2024. The right-back is enjoying a well-earned rest after helping Los Blancos do the double last season – scoring in the Champions League final – and guiding Spain to glory over the summer. Federico Valverde is on holiday after reaching the Copa America semi-final with Uruguay.

Despite having also been in international action this summer, the Brazilian triumvirate of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Eder Militao have now joined up with Real Madrid in the United States. Their early Copa America exit means they are in line to feature against Barcelona.

Young Castilla stars Alvaro Rodriguez and Cesar Palacios are also unavailable after sustaining significant injuries against Milan in Madrid’s most recent outing. They have returned to Spain to recover.

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