Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Lionel Messi and Most Important Players in El Clasico

Barcelona and Real Madrid are world football's greatest rivalry and their final La Liga El Clasico this weekend will likely determine the league fate of both clubs.

With a four-point lead in the league table over Barcelona, a victory for Madrid would probably give them their first Spanish title in four years.

Let's look at the three most important players in this amazing matchup of football powers.

Lionel Messi, Barcelona

Messi is the sport's best player and has a history of playing very well against Madrid in league matches.

The Barcelona star has eight career league goals against Los Blancos and always creates problems with his hard-to-stop runs toward goal because of his fabulous dribbling skills.

These are the kinds of matches that Messi dominates, and Barca will need him to be on top of his game if they are to win their sixth El Clasico since December of 2008.

Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid

The Spanish defender has partnered well with center back Pepe in the middle of the Real Madrid defense, and he will have the challenging task of defending Messi and the rest of the Barcelona attack for 90 minutes.

Ramos is a strong player who excels in the air, but he often struggles against Barcelona. He must not take chances on tackles or runs forward because if he's unsuccessful, Barca will punish the Madrid defense.

Ramos must keep his composure and defend well to give Madrid a chance to win and not allow the match to get out of hand early.

Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso excels in all areas of the pitch and will be asked to defend well in the midfield as well as ignite the Madrid attack with accurate passes to the forwards.

Alonso will also have to pressure the Barcelona midfielders such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi, because Madrid cannot be successful if Barcelona hold the ball for the entire game.

Barca will win the possession battle, but Madrid cannot afford to be dominated in that area throughout the match.

Alonso's ability to prevent Xavi and Iniesta from dominating the game will be quite important for Madrid this weekend.