What part will Ronaldo play on Sunday?
There is arguably no bigger match in club football – Two clubs virtually defined by their opposition to each other go head to head on Sunday night. The Nou Camp will host the first 'Clasico' of the season as European champions Barcelona take on Real Madrid 's 'Galacticos 2.0'.
As if it needed any further edge to it, the match assumes greater importance as Real Madrid hold a one point lead over the Catalan side at the top of Primera Liga. The big question for both sides surrounds the fitness of their star players.
Real will be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo will play some part in proceedings, having returned from two months on the sidelines as a second half substitute during the midweek Champions League victory over Zurich.
"I'm well and of course I want to play in the Clasico, although that is up to the coach. In any case, with or without me, the team are first in La Liga and in their Champions League group," said Ronaldo.
Meanwhile Barca go into the game off the back of an impressive midweek victory over Inter Milan. It was perhaps even more impressive given the absence of both Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both were unused substitutes and like Ronaldo for Real, it remains to be seen what part they will play on Sunday.
A game like Barcelona v Real Madrid carries with it the weight of past encounters and Sunday's match will take place against the backdrop of 107 previous matches between the sides. This week two players with experience of the fixture gave their views:
Legendary English striker Gary Lineker starred for Barcelona in the late 1980s and commented, "The atmosphere in these games is incredible. There used to be 120,000 fans - mostly home supporters - in the Barca home games and I got goose bumps, it really was something else. If you scored in the Bernabeu, you could hear a pin drop.
"I don't think there is anything that quite compares to Barcelona v Real Madrid , it is more than just a football match. It goes back to the oppression of the Catalans under General Franco when the only place they felt they could speak their language was in the stadium."
Lineker's proudest moment at Barcelona was a hat-trick against Real in the Nou Camp in January 1987. See highlights below from the match that became known as El dia de Gary Lineker.
German World Cup winner Gunter Netzer, who played for real Madrid between 1973-6 reflected, "Everyone knows what it means to play for Real or Barca against the other. The people demand that you win and as players you do feel under more pressure. It's the ultimate game."