Courtois falls ill and will miss El Clásico against Barcelona

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, a Belgian, has fallen ill and will miss the El Clásico, the round 10 match of Spain's top football league, LaLiga, against the club's historic rival Barcelona. The Madrid club announced the news itself, saying the player had to pull out at the last minute because of flu-like symptoms.

Kick-off is scheduled for 22:00 local time.

Who replaces Courtois

Ukrainian Andriy Lunin is most likely to play in goal for Real Madrid. He has not yet appeared in a match for the club this season. In Courtois's place, 19-year-old Ilya Voloshin has been added to the matchday squad.

The league standings

After nine rounds, Real Madrid sit third in the LaLiga table with 21 points. Barcelona lead with 27 points and have not yet lost a game this season, giving the Catalan club a six-point advantage over their rivals.

Atletico Madrid are second with 25 points after beating Deportivo 1-0 in round 10, with Alvarez scoring.

Other round 10 matches

Several other fixtures were played before El Clásico. Valencia and Villarreal drew 1-1, Racing beat Espanyol 2-1, Rayo Vallecano lost 3-0 to Elche, and Alaves and Malaga finished 1-1.

Athletic face Getafe, Celta Vigo play Betis, and Real Sociedad meet Levante later in the round. Sevilla will play Osasuna on 26 October at 22:00.