COURTOIS CLÁSICO DRAMA - IS HE OUT/WILL HE MAKE MIRACULOUS REOVERY

LUNIN STANDING BY AMID GENERAL CONFUSION ABOUT WHO STARTS

Thibaut Courtois is suddenly a big doubt for Sunday’s Camp Nou Clásico becuase a flu-like virus has laid him low since Saturday evening and it got to the extent that Madrid began briefing that their World No1 wouldn’t play against Barcelona.

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Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that there’s no other club where the drop in quality between a player who’s literally the best in the world, Courtois, and his back-up, Andriy Lunin is so minor.

Look at the Ukranian’s performances in the 23/24 title win when he had 21 starts, including the run in to victory, during Courtois injury - and his career-defining defiance at Manchester City in the Champions League that same year.

By early afternoon on Sunday the word from the Madrid camp was that Courtois was insisting that, despite feeling terrible overnight, he was determined to make the journey and… play.

That’s obviously going to be a huge decision for Jose Mourinho to make, with the club doctors. One which might be guided by the fact that Lunin’s played five Clásicos in the last four years - winning four of them.