El Clásico
Real Madrid against Barcelona is never just an ordinary game of football, and the dazzling array of plots and subplots means this weekend's meeting at the Bernabeu is surrounded by more anticipation than ever.
In a continuation of their absurd and hysterical arms race, Real Madrid and Barcelona both bought some of the biggest attacking stars in world football this summer. But because we've already had the pleasure of watching quite a bit of James Rodriguez in a white shirt, the spotlight in this edition of El Clásico is on one man in blaugrana: Luis Suarez.
The global television audience for Saturday's game will be colossal, with estimates placing the number of worldwide viewers between 400 and 500 million.
Although it is a source of considerable irritation for British fans who will be unable to watch the first 15 minutes because of broadcasting regulations, La Liga's authorities have done their best to boost the audience by scheduling kick-off for 6pm local time (17:00 BST).
Ronaldo Vs Messi: Lionel Messi's left-footed strike in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Eibartook him to the milestone of 250 career goals in La Liga, leaving the Barcelona man just one behind the record held by 1940s Athletic Bilbao star Telmo Zarra.
The tantalising prospect of Messi breaking the all-time Spanish goalscoring record against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu has not, as you would expect, gone unnoticed in Spain.
22 - Ronaldo in a league of his own
Even by his own outrageously high standards, Real's Ronaldo has enjoyed a purple patch in the opening two months of the season, with a La Liga goals-per-game sequence of 1-1-3-4-1-3-2.
With 15 strikes to his name, Ronaldo has registered more goals in the opening eight rounds of the season than any other player in La Liga history, a feat all the more remarkable for the fact that he missed one of those games - a 4-2 defeat against Real Sociedad.
Perhaps the craziest statistic to provide some perspective to the Portugal star's hot streak is that he has scored more league goals this season than 81 of the 98 teams in Europe's five major leagues, including Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal.
And Ronaldo's three hat-tricks this term have taken his career La Liga tally of trebles to 22, putting him joint level at the top of the pile with Zarra and Alfredo Di Stefano.
Ronaldo breaking the all-time hat-trick record and Messi setting a new all-time goalscoring record in the same game? With these two extraordinary players, anything is possible.
"Cristiano ronaldo in his best of form, Is there anyone who is gonna stop this goal machine? I hope not."
500 - Can you hear them?
Barcelona will face a decidedly hostile atmosphere inside the Bernabeu, with only 500 of their supporters tucked away in a corner high inside the grand old stadium.
The small allocation made available to the visitors is nothing unusual because Spanish football simply does not have a culture of fans travelling to away games.
Projected lineups
Real Madrid (4-4-2): Iker Casillas; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Dani Carvajal; Isco,Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez; Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema
Barcelona (4-3-3): Claudio Bravo; Jordi Alba, Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves; Javier Mascherano, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta; Neymar, Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez
Suarez could make a start in the first game he's eligible for, but since he's yet to play in a match, it's hard to pick him to start. Because Busquets is hurt, Javier Mascherano will move up the pitch in his absence. Both teams have goalkeeper dilemmas, but it's tough to pick against the two who have been first choice in the league this season.
Prediction
At their best, Madrid have looked unstoppable at this season. And at their worst, they've looked like a team that can be easily carved up by average sides. Their attacking talent (and Barcelona's questionable defense) leaves open the possibility that they could score six goals in this game.
"Ronaldo and Messi are, if anything, better than last season. It is so hard to call but I would go for Real to edge it this time. It will be full of absolutely everything - quality, intensity and lots of incident. It is becoming an unmissable event."
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