No room for Kylian Mbappe or Jude Bellingham! Only four Real Madrid players feature in El Clasico combined XI with Barcelona in stunning form

Oh boy, we're already starting on the back-foot to try and appease the masses, aren't we? Heading into Saturday's encounter, both Real and Barca are without their first-choice goalkeepers, leaving their undercooked understudies to choose between.

Largely based off his performances in the absence of Thibaut Courtois last season, Andriy Lunin gets the nod. His displays deservedly earned him a spot on the Yachine Trophy shortlist, and he was heavily linked with a move away to one of Europe's elite clubs, such is his over-qualification to merely serve as a backup.

No offence to Wojciech Szczesny, but he has literally just come out of retirement. No offence to Inaki Pena, but he has literally forced Szczesny to come out of retirement...

Once more, the potluck of injury has made this pick a little easier to make. Dani Carvajal has been in Ballon d'Or conversations, but his ACL injury has brought an end to his 2024-25 season.

Though Lucas Vazquez was on the scoresheet in Madrid's stunning 5-2 comeback win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, it is Barca's Jules Kounde who has owned the right-back spot in La Liga this term.

Beyond his radical fits while away with France, the 25-year-old has at long last embraced his position as a full-back rather than a centre-back, and Barcelona are reaping the rewards with some excellent displays.

Everyone and their uncle knows about Barcelona's financial troubles at this point, but it's to 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi's credit that even if the club were flush with cash, they wouldn't be looking to the market for an upgrade.

The teenager is quickly passing through every checkpoint on his way to the world's upper echelon of defenders. A supreme centre-back in his own time, Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany showered Cubarsi in praise prior to their Champions League meeting earlier this week.

"Easy answer: he will be one of the future defensive leaders of world football. It is not common to reach such a high level at this age. If he doesn’t get injured, he could have a great career," the former Manchester City captain said.

Next to the boy wonder is a seasoned veteran who has grown into his standing in Madrid. A tough debut season for Antonio Rudiger at Real was followed by one which ended in a Champions League and La Liga double.

Ancelotti's side have, to put it kindly, controlled games with the effectiveness of a kitchen sieve so far this term. Rudiger has been as reliable as ever in trying to keep danger at bay, if still a little too busy for his manic liking.

It was hard to snub his Madrid partner Eder Militao, particularly given his goal against Atletico at the end of September, but hey, you can't have everything, Madridistas.

There isn't a lot to split Ferland Mendy and Alejandro Balde, two of the under-appreciated stars of El Clasico. This is still a far cry from the days of Marcelo and Jordi Alba, mind you.

Perhaps this pick is a matter of optics. Ancelotti repeatedly hails Mendy as the best defensive left-back in world football (despite Madrid's interest in Alphonso Davies), while the Catalan media have pointed the finger at Balde for his up-and-down performances over the last year or so, forgetting he's still only 21. Nonetheless, Mendy is hardly a poor or controversial selection here.

Barcelona's decision to promote youth has in-part been enforced by financial and fitness issues, but in-part due to the talent emerging from their La Masia academy. Marc Casado straddles that fine line with perfect balance.

The 21-year-old has undoubtedly been one of the surprise packages to open the new season, and Barca's only La Liga defeat to this point - a 4-2 humbling at Osasuna - came when Casado was on the pitch for just 20 minutes.

Midfields are the key to controlling matches. Without Casado's influence, Barcelona and Flick would have had a harder time navigating the opening stages of the campaign. You can't overlook that.

Man, it's fantastic that Pedri has been able to string a run of games together already this season. It seemed for all the world that the Canary Island prodigy's career would stall indefinitely because of injury.

Thankfully, Pedri is looking spritely once again and has been a mainstay under Flick's management. If he's to fulfil his promise as a true spiritual successor to Xavi and Andres Iniesta, then he could do with a defining moment in El Clasico, particularly away from home and particularly to snap Madrid's unbeaten streak.

Well, Lamine Yamal may no longer be 16, but the novelty of him being absurdly young hasn't worn off quite yet. He's still scoring goals and providing assists at a ridiculous rate regardless of age.

His competition for this spot comes in the form of Rodrygo, who has been the sacrificial lamb in terms of touches in Madrid's attack since Mbappe's come in and tried to make the whole being-a-striker schtick work. Still a great player all the same, but Yamal's clearly in better spirits.

If he continues developing at this rate, he's going to walk into combined XIs for this fixture for the next two decades, well into the 2040s. Yeah.

Back in July, Raphinha's days at Barcelona look numbered. Yamal was buddying up with Nico Williams on Spain's way to Euro 2024 glory, and Barca were keen to get in on that action at club level.

But back has come Raphinha with a vengeance, already contributing nine goals and eight assists in all competitions this term, including his superb hat-trick against Bayern Munich in Wednesday's Champions League clash.

Prior to that game, Raphinha hit back at those who were celebrating his potential exit, telling a press conference: "I saw a picture in social media with someone printing a Barca shirt with Nico Williams and my number at the back. I left a comment in that post because I think it was disrespectful. People need to keep their respect to the players from the club who try to do their best for the shirt. It did not sit right with me and the work I do here. But in the end people can do whatever they want."

They all laughed at him. Well it's safe to say they aren't laughing now, are they?

Even before Vinicius Jr's exploits against Dortmund, he was a shoo-in for this team. Even taking aside his (surely) Ballon d'Or-winning exploits of last season, he was a shoo-in for this team.

At this moment in time, Madrid's No.7 is the best player in the world. If Vini played in the 2000s, he would be lauded today as one of the greatest of all time. He belongs in that bracket of entertainers like Ronaldinho and is the current heir to Neymar's Brazilian throne.

What takes Vinicius over the top is that he's not just about aesthetics and style, but he brings substance with it all as well - five goals and six assists in La Liga by late October is a damn fine return.

Who's ready for a two-pronged argument about the inclusion of Robert Lewandowski at the expense of Mbappe? Strap in, folks.

We should actually make the point that Lewandowski is hardly a pity pick, nor one that should be shrouded in controversy. His 12-goal haul is twice as many as second-placed Mbappe's in La Liga's rankings so far, for crying out loud. Even at 36, he's found a new lease of life under his former Bayern boss Flick.

That, really, should be enough to justify the Pole's place, but let's also take some time to discuss the curious conundrum posed by Mbappe. He's undisputedly one of the world's best players and, despite all the heat about disrupting Madrid's flow, has put up the numbers expected of him so far.

With that said, it's still not enough for us to want to distort this XI and bend over backwards the way Ancelotti has to fit him in. There's a nice balance to this team and there's no need to go full Garth Crooks and shove a million attackers in. On form, this is the best and most functional team.