Yamal and Mbappé face off in clasico one day before Ballon d’Or winner is revealed

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé are both hoping to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday night when they are expected to attend the Parisian gala for the most prestigious individual award in soccer.

But just a day before, the two stars aim to shine in a head-to-head battle in Barcelona.

Mbappé’s Real Madrid visits Yamal’s Barcelona trailing the two-time defending La Liga champions already by six points after nine rounds. So the pressure is on Madrid — in third place behind Atletico Madrid — to at least not fall further behind.

Even though voting by journalists for the Ballon d’Or ended in September, fans have become increasingly focused on the award in the run-up to Monday’s ceremony. That makes the clasico an ideal stage for Yamal and Mbappé to make their closing arguments in the court of public opinion. Other top candidates for the award include last year’s winner Ousmane Dembélé, Harry Kane and the 39-year-old Lionel Messi.

Yamal is off to stellar start this season after he helped Spain win the World Cup in July, beating Mbappé’s France in the semifinals and Messi’s Argentina in the final. The 19-year-old has 10 goals and 10 assists across La Liga and Champions League, plus another four goals for Spain, already this campaign.

Mbappé, meanwhile, is as ruthless as ever in front of the net. The striker has 12 goals in as many games and, along with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, he is keeping an otherwise erratic Madrid in touching distance of Barcelona.

Here is what else you need to know about the big game:

Mourinho returns to Camp Nou

Hate is a strong word, even in soccer. But if anyone is extremely disliked by Barcelona fans it is José Mourinho, who started a second stint with Madrid this season.

In his first period at Madrid from 2010-13, the Portuguese coach took the rivalry between Spain’s biggest clubs to new heights thanks to his team’s tough tactics and his own verbal jousting with counterpart Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho even got physical himself, infamously poking then assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye during a scuffle between the sides.

All that means to expect even more jeers than usual when Real Madrid takes the field on Sunday.

Barcelona coming off sole loss of season

Barcelona had won all 11 games it had played this campaign until it ran into a rampant Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday. Two late goals by the European champions condemned Barcelona to a 4-2 defeat despite another superb goal by Yamal.

Otherwise, it has been a series of intimidating performances by Hansi Flick’s side.

Raphinha has 14 goals in his new role as striker, while the team has scored a Europe-leading 50 goals overall, including hitting five or more goals in six games.

Given Mourinho’s preference for attacking on the break with the speed of Mbappé, expect Barcelona to dominate possession and press to score early and often.

Rodri back in Barcelona’s starting 11

The biggest decision of the offseason in Spain was Rodri choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid.

The former Manchester City midfielder was targeted by both clubs, but he picked playing with several of his Spain teammates.

Rodri had started eight games in a row before Flick left him on the bench at PSG until the final half hour.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner should be back in the starting 11 against Madrid alongside Pedri and most likely Fermín López with Dani Olmo injured.

Diomande is filling in for the suspended Vinícius

Madrid’s attack will be missing Vinícius Júnior, who will serve the second of a four-game suspension in La LIga for pulling an opponent’s hair.

But with Vinícius struggling to find his groove, that might not be such a big blow to Mourinho’s plans.

Nineteen-year-old newcomer Yan Diomande is settling in and has scored in three of Madrid’s last four games while showing similar speed to Vinícius — if not the same incredible dribbling skills — on the left side of the attack.

Madrid’s hopes will also rest on Arda Güler providing moments of playmaking against a more talented Barcelona midfield.

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