El clásico is back with an English twist to a game thankfully on Spanish soil

RASH DECISION As October draws to a close and a relentless winter of football looms into view, the biggest domestic game of the season anywhere in Europe – and a contest that could decide a title race – is set to light up a gloomy Sunday afternoon. But after Scottish league leaders Hearts take on Celtic at midday [GMT! – Football Daily Ed], there’s also a decent-looking fixture in Spain. Yes, el clásico is back, this time with a hefty dose of existential angst. We may only be nine games into the season, but La Liga’s table already has a familiar look to it, with Real Madrid and Barcelona – who have taken turns to lift the title over the last four seasons – already forging a gap above chasers Villarreal and Atlético. Hansi Flick’s Barça, the defending champions, have an attacking deck so stacked they make the Harlem Globetrotters look conservative. Last season, they racked up 16 goals across four beatings of their bitter rivals – but an unexpected 4-1 hoofing at Sevilla last week means they go to the Bernabéu in second place. Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid rebuild has been less spectacular but still ruthlessly effective, the Death Star undergoing a deep clean. Like Barça, they have one weirdly lopsided away loss on their record – the 5-2 derby defeat to Atlético – but have won their other eight games. La Liga’s dominant forces are also colliding with the league in turmoil after Barça’s planned jaunt to Miami fell apart in real time, while nominal ‘hosts’ Villarreal were playing a Bigger Cup game. The plug was pulled after La Liga players collectively protested against the decision last weekend after their union was left out of negotiations. Surveying the wreckage of his own hubris, league chief Javier Tebas decided to point the finger at … Real Madrid. “Their players only know to say ‘corruption, corruption, corruption’,” Tebas fumed. Earlier in the week, Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois had emerged as an unlikely revolutionary, condemning Tebas for “manipulation” of the league, “censorship” of the protests after TV cameras cut away in jarringly obvious fashion. As Courtois put it: “La Liga does whatever it wants, because it suits them”. Sunday might be a rare clásico where the vitriol on both sides isn’t aimed at each other – and it’s also likely to be historic from an English perspective. If the on-loan Marcus Rashford starts opposite Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold, it will be the first clásico to feature an English player on both sides. After an impressive start to life at Barça, Rashford is already making noises about a permanent deal. “For anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game,” Rashford cheered, sounding a bit like ChatGPT. “For a player it is an honour.” With the England forward back in form and seven Geopolitics World Cup matches taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium next summer, Rashford may be one Barça player to get that trip to Miami. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE Join John Brewin for piping hot coverage of Leeds 0-0 West Ham in the Premier League, with kick-off at 8pm BST. QUOTE OF THE DAY “I feel like I can finally breathe. It’s been a difficult couple of months here, with all the changes, the bad performances. Thanks to the fans for sticking by us” – Morgan Gibbs-White aims a thinly-veiled dig at Ange Postecoglou following Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win over Porto in Bigger Vase – the club’s first win in all competitions since the first match of the season on 17 August. FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS Sadly, I mistakenly thought that nominative determinism would make a winner of me on my bet on Aston Villa’s opponents scoring first. Still, Come From Behind Eagles has a certain ring to it” – Richard Reisman. Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. RECOMMENDED SUBSCRIBING Prefer pictures to words? Well, Big Website has a brand new weekly newsletter on the way, highlighting the very best sport photographs around. You can subscribe here. But please do still stick with your faithful Football Daily, too. BLUE FRIDAY FOR WEDNESDAY Sheffield Wednesday are now on minus six points in the Championship after being docked 12 points for entering administration. The club filed a notice to appoint an administrator on Friday with the EFL confirming the “table will be updated with immediate effect”. Wednesday’s financial issues under Dejphon Chansiri have been well-documented and there were reports that a winding-up order from HMRC was imminent, with thousands of fans staying away from the home game against Middlesbrough two days ago in protest against their owner. “We need a fresh restart to use the potential of this fantastic football club,” sighed manager Henrik Pedersen. “It is a sad situation but it can also still be a good day. Now there is a belief, a hope, there is a looking forward feeling to better days for Sheffield Wednesday. When I close my eyes, I can see a bright future.” NEWS, BITS AND BOBS A problem with the surgical graft that repaired the knee of Sam Kerr went undiscovered for 10 months, leaving her in pain and suffering “dark” days in her rehabilitation. “There were a few times there where I was like, ‘gosh, I don’t know if [the pain] will ever go away’,” said the Flamin’ Matildas striker, who is hopeful of returning to full fitness with Chelsea in the next month or so. Like Prime David Brent blasting out a bit of Tina Turner ‘Simply the Best’, Virgil van Dijk has revealed he called a players’ meeting after Liverpool’s defeat by Manchester United to lift the mood. “Before my meeting yes [the mood was downbeat] but after my meeting everyone was happy,” parped the centre-back, reaching over his own considerable shoulders to give himself a nice pat on the back. Sean Dyche might have been in dreamland for his first match in charge of Nottingham Forest but the same could not be said of Danny Röhl at Rangers, who were battered 3-0 by Brann in Bigger Vase. Cheer up, Danny! At least you are not still at Sheffield Wednesday! Glasgow’s other club, Celtic, fared better against Sturm Graz, coming from behind to beat the Austrian side 2-1, while Aston Villa suffered a shock loss at Go Ahead Eagles. And Panathinaikos have appointed Rafael Benítez as their new manager, with local media reporting the 65-year-old has signed a two-year deal on the highest salary ever paid to a coach in the Greek top flight. Kerching! RECOMMENDED PLAYING Big Website has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It’s now live in the app for IOS and Android … so what are you waiting for? STILL WANT MORE? Suzanne Wrack previews the Lionesses’ game against Brazil, with a fierce debate swirling around Sarina Wiegman’s team selection. Trailblazing Jess Fishlock set to sign off legendary career for Wales in style, writes Sophie Downey. Bournemouth and the art of selling your best players. By Harry Paterson of WhoScored. You may have missed that Erling Haaland has launched his own YouTube channel. Will Unwin sat through the striker’s video – entitled ‘Day in the life of a pro footballer’ – in which the striker enjoys raw milk, standing in front of a red light (to get vitamin D) and chats in front of a Shaun Wright-Phillips-sized teddy bear. John Brewin’s Bigger Cup review focuses on why youth ruled for Barcelona and Bayern and also includes an unlikely player of the week. Count ‘em and weep: 10 things to look out for this weekend in the Premier League. Like a fine wine or a takeaway curry eaten the next day, Danny Welbeck is getting better with age and playing the best football of his career at 34. John Brewin asks if the Brighton forward could make the Geopolitics World Cup. And Lionel Messi just had the best season in MLS history. Does anyone care? John Muller investigates. MEMORY LANE Sheffield Wednesday now look likely to be playing in League One next season. It’s a long way from 22 October 1962, when shortly after winning his second World Cup, Pelé arrived on English soil for the first time to play a solitary match against Wednesday at Hillsborough. Attracting an attendance of 49,058. Santos won 4-2 with all of the goals coming in the first half and Pelé scoring a penalty, while Bill Griffin and David Layne netted for the Owls. OXFORD COMMA