The goal-scorers
The vital statistics are staggering, with Barcelona's front three scoring 56 times so far in the league, one more than Real Madrid's 55. Lionel Messi has 21 Clasico goals compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's 14.
Sunday’s game could come down to a straight showdown between the two strike forces – Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez for Barca; Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema for Madrid.
That is probably the most talented group of strikers to feature in a single match and, in a game that could come down to one moment of magic, it is anyone’s guess which player steps up to the plate.
The managers
Luis Enrique played in 32 Clasicos for Madrid (1991-96) and Barca (1996-2004). He had a knack of scoring and rates his most memorable goal as one scored for Barca in a 3-2 victory in the Bernabeu.
“My favourite important goal,” Barca’s manager says, “was when I scored second to make it 2-1. Madrid had a great team: (Predrag) Mijatovic, (Davor) Suker, Roberto Carlos.
“My celebration was passionate and effusive. My teammates jumped on top of me, the crowd were throwing things at me. At that time, Barca hardly ever won in the Bernabeu. It was a really important game for me. We’d lost the previous game 2-0 and I had an overhead kick which hit the bar, so I loved that moment of scoring.”
Carlo Ancelotti does not have the same history in Spain. He has been victorious in two of his four Clasicos since taking over from Jose Mourinho at the end of the 2012/13 season. He has to figure out how to stop Messi and is expected to use Marcelo and Sergio Ramos to double mark him.
The men in the middle
Barca’s players were given a day off after their Uefa Champions League win over Manchester City, but seven still showed up for training, including midfielders Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Javier Mascherano and Sergi Roberto. Rakitic, 27, is in great form and should come up against Toni Kroos, 25, who is not.
Both are in their debut seasons, and they play in slightly different central roles. Rakitic is more likely to make runs forward – as he did on Wednesday to score the only goal against City – while Kroos is more likely to shoot from distance, but both will be the main protagonists in the middle.
The goalkeepers
If selected as expected, Iker Casillas will play his first Camp Nou Clasico for nearly three years. He is under scrutiny after recent mistakes. The first goal Casillas conceded at Camp Nou was a header from Luis Enrique in 2001.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved a penalty for Barca on Wednesday, but Claudio Bravo is expected to resume his place as the No 1 for La Liga games.
The figures
Camp Nou is sold out to its 98,600 capacity, and an estimated 500 million people will watch the game around the world. They will see a Madrid team valued at €720 million (Dh2.9 billion), according to the transfermarkt.de website, while Barca are worth €125m less.
Black-market tickets with a face value of €100 were selling for eight times that figure on Friday. They are for the 230th clasico, the first which was played in 1902. Madrid have beaten Barca 92 times in official matches, with 89 wins for the Catalans and 48 draws.
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