Barcelona stand one victory away from rewriting La Liga history, with Sunday's El Clasico at Camp Nou presenting Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid with the perfect opportunity to deny them that milestone.

The Catalan club are targeting a 10th consecutive league win to open the season — a mark that would surpass the record set by Real Madrid themselves in 1968-69. Barcelona head into the fixture bruised, however, following a 4-2 UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris St-Germain in midweek, and Mourinho's side are determined to capitalise on that vulnerability.

Mourinho's mood heading into the Clasico

Real have arrived at this fixture in confident form, having crushed Sevilla and RB Leipzig 4-1 in their two most recent outings. Mourinho, however, was quick to dismiss any notion that recent results carry weight in a fixture of this magnitude.

"We are in a good dynamic, we play well, we score goals — but the Clasico is different. What we have done before has no influence," he said. "There are other important matches in the world, but this is the only Clasico, the world stops."

Third-placed Real trail leaders Barcelona by six points, and Mourinho acknowledged his squad were still adapting to his methods after just three months working together — excluding pre-season and international breaks. He remained unfazed by calls to overhaul his approach specifically to neutralise Lamine Yamal.

"He's a great player, we respect great players. We aren't going to completely change things. We won't forget the way we do things," Mourinho said. "Madrid with Mourinho wins trophies."

Flick urges caution after PSG setback

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick insisted his players had recovered from the PSG defeat and were ready for the contest, but warned against any sense of complacency when facing Real's attacking threat — compounded by the suspension of Vinicius Jr, who will be absent for the visitors.

"El Clasico is different, the best match our sport has to offer. Everyone will be watching. You can only win three points, but it's so much more than that," Flick said.

"I expect a very confident team. Real Madrid is a great club with great players and a great coach. They have players with great quality in the final third. We have to be careful and prepared."

Flick highlighted defensive organisation as the priority, stressing the importance of compactness against a side capable of hurting opponents on the break. He also flagged set-pieces as a specific danger. "We know Real Madrid's strengths, and they're among the best at set-pieces. We have to defend better than we did in Paris," he said.

Star power and individual battles

Six of this year's 30 Ballon d'Or nominees are set to feature — Pau Cubarsi, Rodri, and Lamine Yamal for Barcelona, and Marc Cucurella, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid. Their individual duels could define the contest.

Cucurella is expected to take on his Spain international team-mate Lamine Yamal along Barcelona's right flank, while Cubarsi may renew his rivalry with Mbappe — the pair having previously clashed in Spain's 2-0 World Cup semi-final victory over France. Mbappe arrives in devastating form, having scored 12 goals in 12 appearances this season.

In the centre of the pitch, the contest between Rodri and Bellingham promises to be one of the most compelling sub-plots of the afternoon.

How Real can stop Barcelona making history

Real's most effective route to victory is likely to involve disrupting Barcelona's rhythm through compact defensive shape, disciplined pressing, and rapid transitions — denying the hosts time to build from the back and exploiting the space left behind by their high defensive line.

Barcelona have been relentless in front of goal this season, netting 50 times across 12 La Liga matches, but their defence has conceded 15 — a fragility Mourinho's attackers will look to expose.

For Barcelona, a win would cement their standing as early-season title favourites and stretch their lead over Real to nine points. For Real, victory would close the gap to three points and deliver a significant psychological lift to their title challenge.