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Barcelona will make a late fitness call on Lionel Messi ahead of tonight's clásico at the Nou Camp.
The Argentine trained on Tuesday as he looked to recover from a thigh problem picked up against Valencia at the weekend, and the hope is that he is ready to face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Ousmane Dembele certainly won't be playing, with the French winger struggling to deal with an ankle problem and not included in the squad.
Carles Alena and Malcom, two young players of differing skill sets, are competing for Messi's spot if the five-time Ballon d'Or winner does not recover in time.
Otherwise Barca will be much as expected with Marc-Andre Ter Stegen the only senior goalkeeper fit. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba will start at full-back with Gerard Pique playing his 33rd clásico alongside newcomer Clement Lenglet.
Sergio Busquets, Arthur and Ivan Rakitic form a formidable midfield trio while the front three is expected to feature the out-of-sorts Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez and - hopefully - Messi.
Real Madrid will be hoping not, of course, with youngster Sergio Reguilon pencilled in to play at left-back.
Marcelo has lost favour with new boss Santiago Solari and has found himself out of the team in recent weeks, with Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane set to start in the other defensive positions. Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric continue to be Madrid's first-choice midfield triangle while the front three has the most unknowns.
Karim Benzema should start centrally, with the Frenchman enjoying a productive season after Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, but he could be flanked by any number of options. Most likely is Lucas Vazquez, the homegrown winger who offers a lot defensively, while Vinicius Junior and Gareth Bale might be fighting for just one spot on the other wing.
Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Ernesto Valverde is waiting anxiously on the fitness of Lionel Messi after the Argentine suffered a thigh strain in the Catalans' 2-2 draw with Valencia on the weekend.
It is true that sometimes we have had doubts with players and we have waited until the last moment. It is the same with Messi.
Real Madrid have been rejuvenated after a calamitous start to the season under Julen Lopetegui.
Santiago Solari's side have won seven of their last eight games.
Here is The Independent's combined starting XI for tonight's fixture:
Solari has chosen to play 24-year-old Marcos Llorente ahead of Casemiro for the fixture.
The belief behind the decision was supposedly that the tireless runner would be able to man-mark Lionel Messi but with the Argentine left out that could well be a gamble the Madrid boss is now regretting.
Barcelona's assistant manager, Jon Aspiazu, has spoken to Gol about Messi's fitness:
We didn't want to take any risk. Messi is 100%, but we preferred for him to start on the bench. He could come on at any moment.
Barcelona remain the favourites tonight, even without their talisman. They've won the last four clasicos and still have Luis Suarez leading the line. The Uruguayan has scored 16 goals and added eight assists in 29 games so far this season.
Madrid are finishing off their warm-up. The last time they stepped on the Camp Nou pitch they were felled 5-1, which proved the final straw of Julen Lopetegui's reign.
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