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Barcelona star Luis Suarez says Real Madrid ‘above’ Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of El Clasico
LUIS SUAREZ claims struggling Real Madrid are still a dangerous opponent - even without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi injures arm during Sevilla clash
The La Liga rivals go head to head in the much-anticipated El Clasico on Sunday (3.15pm), with Ronaldo absent from the clash for the first time since 2009 after his £100million switch to Juventus in the summer.
And while Suarez admits Real will miss their former Galactico, he says they still have players who can hurt them and says no star - no matter how big - are as important as the club.
"We all know what kind of player Cristiano Ronaldo is, but a team is always above any single player," he said.
"They have other great players who can make the difference.
"We have to play our game without thinking about which players our opponents have."
Real go into the crunch clash in dreadful form. Julian Lopetegui’s side have lost all of their last three La Liga games - the last one a shock 2-1 home reverse by Levante.
A 2-1 win against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League this week relieved some of the pressure on the under-fire Lopetegui, who only came in to the club in the summer.
And Suarez thinks they might just need some time to adapt to their new manager’s style.
"They have many players of good quality, at a great level and a new coach,” he added.
"A new coach always generates ambitions.”
Suarez’s team-mate and Barca talisman Lionel Messi will also miss the game through injury, meaning El Clasico will not feature one of the pair for the first time since 2007.
Ousmane Dembele could come in for the injured Argentinian, although Barca boss Ernesto Valverde opted to use Rafinha instead in their recent 2-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Defenders Samuel Umtiti (knee) and Thomas Vermaelen (hamstring) are definitely out for Valverde’s side.
Real boss Lopetegui will be without Dani Carvajal, who is sidelined with a calf injury but Marcelo has recovered from an ankle knock.
Young forward Vinicius Junior was recently sent off playing for the B team but his second yellow card was overturned and he is also free to play at the Nou Camp.