Spanish La Liga
Teams: Real Madrid v Barcelona
Venue: Santiago Bernabéu
Date: 23 December 2017
The two dominant teams in European club football over the last decade will resume their bitter rivalry on Saturday as Real Madrid host FC Barcelona at the Bernabéu.
Read: PSG Coach Makes El Clasico Prediction
The match is scheduled to get underway at 14h00.
Los Blancos hammered the Catalans 5-1 on aggregate in August's Spanish Super Cup, but the tables have turned since then.
Barcelona lead La Liga by six points, while Real Madrid languish 11 behind Ernesto Valverde's side with a game in hand.
Lionel Messi has led the way for the Blaugrana, netting 14 times in 16 La Liga appearances. By contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled this season and has only scored four goals in 11 league games.
However, Ronaldo netted the winner as Real Madrid beat Gremio 1-0 in last weekend.
The Catalan giants will be without club-record signing Ousmane Dembele, while Cristiano Ronaldo has been included in the line up despite missing training earlier in the week.
Soccer Laduma's Rossella Ricco-Marrai is attending this year's El Clasico thanks to La Liga's offices in Johannesburg. Follow her daily dairy in Fan Park and our social channels.
Here's how they line up:
Real: Keylor Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Kovacic; Ronaldo, Benzema.
Barca: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Vermaelen, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Paulinho, Iniesta; Luis Suárez, Messi.
