Madrid edged that first half and look most likely to be the victors as things stand. Zidane has lost just two of his nine Clasicos as Real Madrid boss in all competitions, winning twice here at Camp Nou. Barca showed flashes of their quality though. Can Koeman inspire more from his side in the second half?
It's been an energetic start to proceedings here in Barcelona and not a bad Clasico at all. Madrid took the lead after five minutes through Valverde before Fati levelled things quickly for Barca. Since then, Madrid have grown into the game but both sides are still more than capable of scoring again.
45' + 2' HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-1 REAL MADRID
45' + 2' Kroos' corner is cleared easily by Barca. Coutinho tries to send Fati through the middle on the break but Courtois is alert and mops it up without any trouble. That's that for now!
45' + 1' Vinicius bursts down the right after a backheel flick by Benzema and Pique races back to block the cross. Madrid will have their third corner of the game to end the half.
45' There'll be two minutes of additional time in this first half. This game has flown by.
42' Madrid do a spectacular job of keeping the ball for a while until Nacho's cross floats harmlessly out of play. It looks like Nacho will have to go off early. The full-back is limping.
40' Alba is set free down the left by Coutinho and looks to dink a pass to Fati in the middle. It's too close to Courtois though.
39' Madrid have had 55 per cent possession so far. It's not often you see Barcelona seeing less of the ball than their opponents at home.
38' Dest is playing very well. Madrid pop the ball around quickly to send Vinicius running down the left channel. The American right-back predicts where Vinicius is trying to go and shepherds the ball out for a goal-kick.
35' Nacho and Asensio get Madrid going down their right flank, bringing Benzema into the picture. Dest makes a fantastic tackle to put a stop to the move.
33' Mendy fires in a cross from the left edge of Barca's box but it's blocked. It's hard to tell who the next scorers will be.
31' Vinicius wins a free-kick as Busquets gets in his way. Madrid are on the back foot at the moment but still look a threat on the counter-attack.
28' Messi tries to dance his way into the penalty area only for Casemiro to stick a foot out at the vital moment. Barca halfheartedly call for a penalty but it's not coming.
26' Messi gets a free-kick in his own half as he's fouled by Varane. Barca are starting to get a grip on this game.
24' Chances at both ends! Fati spots Messi in the box. Barca's captain sends Mendy the wrong way and shoots and Courtois dives low to his left to keep it out! Madrid bounce forward on the break and Neto saves from Benzema at point-blank range!
23' The corner comes in and there's a traffic jam in the box with Varane sticking his head in. Pique is forced to poke the ball out for another Madrid corner. This time Ramos heads straight at Neto and the Barca keeper gathers it easily.
21' Madrid enjoy a little spell on the ball. Mendy tries to flick a pass inside to Kroos but it doesn't work out. Benzema earns the visitors a corner kick seconds later.
18' Barca work the ball through the middle and Messi goes down on the edge of the area. The referee is right on top of it and doesn't give the free-kick. Messi fires a shot at Courtois in anger seconds later and Madrid's keeper has it covered.
16' Coutinho's proving influential in these early stages. Dest bombs forward down the right and cuts back for Coutinho who forces a decent save from Courtois. Barca have recovered well from going a goal behind and seem to be finding their rhythm.
14' Coutinho has a shot blocked from outside the box. Alba looks to find Coutinho with another low delivery but this time a Madrid defender is there to block it.
12' Coutinho wins a free-kick in Madrid's half as he takes a kick from Nacho. There's a pleasant zip to this game so far.
10' Both sides have scored with their first shots of the game. At this rate this game is likely to end 12-11.
7' Madrid go looking for a second goal quickly. Vinicius gets a sniff of goal in the box but fires wide. Barca are still waking up by the looks of it.
3' Fati gets the first half-chance of the game as the youngster almost latches onto a direct ball forward. Courtois is straight out of his goal to claim it.
1' We're underway here in Barcelona!
The two sides are out on an empty Camp Nou pitch. It will always be strange to see this fixture so quiet. Barca and Madrid will both play in their iconic first choice kits here, as they always should.
Madrid are unbeaten in their last two La Liga Clasicos against Barca, keeping a clean sheet in both games. Barca's next goal against Madrid will be their 400th in El Clasico history - the last time they failed to score in three consecutive league Clasicos was in the late 1950s. Madrid have won the first Clasico of a season in just one of their last 12 campaigns. Can Madrid win their first consecutive league games against Barca since 2008 or will that recent history continue?
For his first Clasico Barca boss Ronald Koeman makes three changes from his last lineup midweek. Alba starts after returning from injury, while Busquets and the 17-year-old Pedri also come in. Griezmann and Dembele are on the bench. There are five changes to Madrid's team after their midweek defeat to Shakhtar. Ramos, Kroos, and Benzema all slot back in.
SUBS: Eder Militao, Andriy Lunin, Luis Lopez, Luka Jovic, Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Lucas Vazquez, Marcelo.
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Nacho, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos (c), Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
SUBS: Martin Braithwaite, Riqui Puig, Junior Firpo, Carles Alena, Sergi Roberto, Antoine Griezmann, Arnau Tenas, Miralem Pjanic, Trincao, Ousmane Dembele, Ronald Araujo, Inaki Pena.
BARCELONA (4-2-3-1): Neto; Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong; Pedri, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati; Lionel Messi (c).
Madrid are also in a bit of a funk, having lost twice at home in a week to newly-promoted Cadiz and Shakhtar Donetsk. Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane will expect better here in a game that will take the visitors top of the La Liga table if they win. There's plenty of storylines and plenty to look forward to. It's on!
Both Barca and Madrid come into this game against their bitter rivals with points to prove. Barca's Champions League campaign may have got off to a good start midweek but their domestic form has been patchy - they're currently 10th in the league table after failing to win their last two league games. They'll want to rectify that quickly.
Hello! Welcome to our live text commentary of this mouthwatering La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou, Barcelona. Yep, it's El Clasico!
