Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Blancos Who Must Shine to Secure El Clasico Victory

Real Madrid enters Saturday's El Clasico clash against Barcelona with a four-point lead in La Liga, adding even more intensity to one of the fiercest rivalries in sports. A victory for the Blancos at Camp Nou would virtually assure them of their first championship in four years.

Let's take a look at three players who will need to be in fine form for Madrid to secure three key road points. A win would also give the Blancos plenty of momentum heading into the second leg of their Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo, who's tied with Barca star Lionel Messi for the led league in goals at 41, continues to serve as the most important piece of Madrid's offense. Even though the team has several talented strikers, the efficiency just isn't the same unless Ronaldo produces.

The key to Ronaldo's success is being aggressive. Sometimes that leads to him getting labeled as a ball hog or bad teammate, but in reality that's the best way for him to have a major impact on the game. It's no mistake that he plays his worst when he's passive.

Ronaldo will need to play like the best player in the world for the Blancos to come out on top. He's certainly capable of doing exactly that.

Angel Di Maria

While Di Maria isn't the most flashy player on Madrid by any stretch, his consistency helps ensure the Blancos offense doesn't endure many extended slumps. Whether it's setting up a teammate with a pinpoint pass or finding the net himself, he can do it all.

Keeping possession of the ball will be the key for him on Saturday. Both teams understand their best chance of winning will be limiting the amount of time the other team has on the attack, and for Madrid that means Di Maria needs to work some of his magic.

He's really been the model of efficiency with five goals and 14 assists in 19 league matches. He'll need to maintain that form to optimize his team's chances.

Iker Casillas

Goalkeepers are normally an afterthought early in the campaign, but at the business end of a season they start getting a lot more attention since every shot can have a gigantic effect on the title chase. And there are few that handle the pressure better than Casillas.

He's proven his ability once again this season with 12 clean sheets in 33 games. At 30 years old, the Spanish international is still in the prime of his career and has been in enough El Clasico matches to have a good feel for the importance of each one.

Barcelona has more than enough offensive firepower to cause some problems for Real Madrid's back line, so Casillas will need to withstand the pressure to lift the Blancos to victory.