Ernesto Valverde 'Hopeful' of Playing Clasico at Camp Nou as Planned

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said on Thursday he is hopeful the Clasico will go ahead as planned at the Camp Nou on October 26.

The 55-year-old told reporters his team do not want the fixture to be switched to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and want to play the game as scheduled in front of their own supporters:

"It's true that there was a proposal to change the fixtures round, but we weren't in favour of that because we play (away) the Wednesday before. There's nine days to go until the game. We need to respect the calendar and also the fans.

"Under normal circumstances we'd play at home. They're anticipating certain different circumstances, and while we know that this week has been out of the ordinary, we are hopeful of playing the game at our ground. That's what we want to do."

La Liga has asked the two clubs to move the fixture from Barcelona to Real Madrid because of ongoing protests in Catalonia, per Tom Allnutt at the AFP:

The Telegraph showed how there have been protests on the city's streets following the imprisonment of nine Catalan leaders for their roles in the 2017 independence referendum:

A "mass protest" that is likely to involve "thousands of supporters of the sentenced separatist leaders" is planned in Barcelona on October 26, per AS. There are fears organisers of the protest could see the game "as the perfect platform to bring attention to the political cause."

The Spanish government are against the idea of the fixture going ahead as scheduled. According to Alfredo Matilla at AS, Sports Council sources have said "it is not sensible to play that game as planned."

Barcelona have told the competition committee they do not want the game to take place in Madrid but are open to the idea of moving the match to December 18 "as a possible solution," according to Sport.

La Liga President Javier Tebas told Efe (h/t Marca) that El Clasico can not be played on that date because there are already Copa del Rey fixtures scheduled for December 18.

A final decision on the match will be made by the three-match competition committee, according to Sid Lowe at the Guardian. The clubs are likely to only find out when and where the game will take place "on Wednesday, just three days before the game is due to take place."