Real Madrid will be without talisman Kylian Mbappe for Sunday's crucial LaLiga clash with Barcelona.

Madrid head to Camp Nou knowing that anything but a victory will hand their rivals the title.

Barca are 11 points clear of Los Blancos with four games remaining.

And Madrid's cause has not been helped by Mbappe's absence. The Frenchman, who has been at the centre of much speculation amid reports of a rift between himself and the coaching staff, suffered a hamstring injury last month and has been left out of Alvaro Arbeloa's squad.

Mbappe is LaLiga's leading scorer this season with 24 goals.

El Clasico comes at the end of a hugely difficult week for Madrid and Arbeloa.

Rumours are swirling that Jose Mourinho is in line to make a shock return as Madrid's head coach ahead of next season, while Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchoumeni were involved in a training ground fracas.

While Tchouameni has been included in the squad, Valverde will not be featuring against Barca.

Madrid have won eight of their last 12 LaLiga meetings with Barca (L4), as many victories as they managed in their previous 32 encounters in the competition (W8 D7 L17).

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, is aiming to become the fourth coach in the 21st century to win back-to-back LaLiga titles in his first two seasons at Barca.