El Clásico: The perfect stage to make yourself an instant hero

Perhaps you haven’t heard but the biggest game in club football is taking place this Saturday so it’d be rude to not cast an eye over both sides going into the fixture as well as some of the key battles.

While Eibar, Celta and Villarreal had little runs at the summit of La Liga the usual suspects find themselves once again occupying the top two spots going into El Clasico. Barcelona managed to open up a 3-point gap over Real Madrid after they saw off a stubborn Villarreal side at the Camp Nou while Cristiano & co. came away with nothing from the Sanchez Pizjuan after Sevilla fought back to win after going 0-1 down.

There isn’t a great deal to choose from between the two sides going into the match. After besting Atletico Madrid in the middle of September Barcelona have lost twice on their travels against sides expected to challenge the Top 6 – Celta Vigo and Sevilla respectively. They haven’t found it hard to score goals, even in the absence of Messi, but they’ve been unable to plug the gaps in their defence. In their 11 fixtures to date they’ve only managed to keep 4 clean sheets but 2 of those came in their last 2 league games, so perhaps the tide is turning now Bravo is back.

Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the season away at Sevilla and more alarming than the result was the performance. The side appeared to fall apart once Sergio Ramos left the field and there was a distinct lack of leadership. Like Barcelona, their concern isn’t necessarily in the striking department – Real have scored 11 in their last 4 – but at the back. Their 6 clean sheets have all come with Keylor Navas between the sticks and in each of those games he has been pushed to the limit to shut out the opposition.

The main talking point surrounding this fixture has been whether or not Leo Messi would be fit in time to play. He’s been training with Barcelona B this week and looks ready for Saturday - be that from the start or off the bench, he will play. When he limped off against Las Palmas some were concerned whether Barcelona could maintain their challenge without the mercurial Argentinian but if anything, it’s affected Real Madrid more than it has the Catalan side.

It’s curious to see Cristiano struggling without his main rival. The two of them have pushed the other onto another level time after time but without the competition, Cristiano doesn’t seem the same. Think of it as a table tennis match between the best two players in the world. Between them, they form a great rivalry and produce shot after shot but if one is no longer at the table it loses its appeal. Cristiano needs Messi so he can try and show the world he’s the best around.

As Cristiano cuts a forlorn figure spearheading the Real Madrid attack, young Neymar has finally exploded into life. Now, let’s not pretend he was poor prior Messi’s injury as he scored 39 in 51 appearances [in all comps] last season. Yet while he wasn’t poor, he certainly hasn’t ever been this good. The Brazilian has emerged from the shadow of Messi’s heir and actually proven himself to be an able challenger to crown in his own right; and now. There’s a joy to watching him play, one which blends the clinical finishing of Messi alongside the skilful elegance of Ronaldinho. He’s in unstoppable form heading into the biggest game of the season and for the first time, even if they don’t want to admit it, Barcelona fans haven’t really missed Messi – that’s how highly both Neymar and Suarez have performed in his absence.

For Real Madrid it’s all a bit disjointed coming into El Clasico. Prior to the loss against Sevilla there was talk in the media about the pressure mounting on Rafa Benitez already. There are sections of the national press that simply don’t like him, never wanted him at Real and use every possible negative to create a bigger drama. We had James’ unhappy comments this week after only being a substitute against Sevilla, followed by Cristiano allegedly telling Florentino Perez they’d win nothing with Benitez at the helm. This added to Ramos’ comments after the Madrid derby when Rafa criticised the defender for giving away the penalty before Sergio responded, “Just as people talk about my mistake, they’ll talk about the substitutions.” If Real beat Barcelona on Saturday though Rafa will be hailed a tactical genius.

I think it’s worth remembering Benitez has only had his first choice team available to him once this season and they won 6-0, Bale and James scoring a brace apiece. The good news for Madridistas is that all of their big hitters are expected to be fit for Saturday’s game and if Messi returns as well, it might just create some fireworks instead of the usual handbags at twenty paces. Real Madrid are actually unbeaten in their last 22 home fixtures in La Liga.

Barcelona’s other injury concern ahead of the game is Ivan Rakitic. He trained alongside Messi on Monday but didn’t appear yesterday so the game might come too soon for him to start but he is expected to make the squad. The Croatian would be a big miss in midfield and it’d probably mean pushing Mascherano further forward to allow Busquets more freedom. This could then mean Vermaelen would start alongside Pique at the back.

El Clasico stat: This will be the first El Clasico match in 15 years not to feature at least one of Xavi or Iker Casillas.

On a personal level it’d be great to have an El Clasico to remember instead of the standard chess match we’ve been generally treated to in recent years. It was 10 years ago when Ronaldinho produced one of the most memorable moments in history as he glided not once but twice through Real Madrid defenders to score at the Bernabeu. The Real Madrid fans applauded him off the field that night as they knew they’d witnessed something special. It’s often forgotten that in the same game Messi actually made his El Clasico bow. He was credited with an assist for Eto’o’s opening goal but, truth be told, the Cameroon international simply robbed the ball from his feet and powered it home.

Gareth Bale’s solo run in the Copa del Rey final when he left Bartra for dead was special, but those moments have been few & far between. They haven’t been poor encounters but hardly memorable ones either.

It’s the most-watched fixture in the world. The talent on show is endless but who wants to become a hero? One of the young guns, Bale and Neymar, desperate to show they are ready to challenge the Ballon d’Or duopoly? Or will it be one of the reigning kings, Messi and Cristiano, to etch yet another moment into their long history books? It could even be Pique to silence the boo-boys or perhaps Ramos to go out with a blaze of glory before shoulder surgery.

Whoever it is, let the real winner be football.