El Clasico 2014: Top Stars to Watch in Real Madrid vs. Barcelona Fixture

After eight weeks of warm-up action on this season's La Liga schedule, it's time to get serious. In other words, it's time for Real Madrid and Barcleona in the first El Clasico of the season on Saturday.

It's also a critical match for Real Madrid as it looks to inch closer to its biggest rival in the standings. 

Barcelona has been spot on so far as the lone unbeaten club at 7-0-1. The Blaugranes also have yet to allow a goal, outscoring their opponents by a 22-0 margin thus far. It hasn't been the most competitive schedule yet, but at least they haven't taken anyone for granted.

Real Madrid hasn't been quite that impressive, though there hasn't been much to complain about. With a La Liga best 30 goals, Los Blancos have positioned themselves to make the race for the top spot very interesting with a win on Saturday.

In anticipation of the always intense and insanely passionate rivalry, these are the stars that you should be keeping a close eye on when Real Madrid and Barcelona step on the pitch. 

Lionel Messi, Barcelona

David Ramos/Getty Images

What better place to start than with the world's best player? The side story to this El Clasico battle is Lionel Messi's quest to become the all-time leading goal scorer in La Liga history. He's currently at 250, one behind Telmo Zarra, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Like any competitor, Messi says that he isn't focused on the record. He told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, via ESPN FC, the only thing that matters is finding a way to win:

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We will go there to do the best possible and to win. Nothing will be decided, and there will still be a lot of Liga left, but we will go to try and win and to play well. Zarra's record is the least important thing, what matters is to play well and win there.

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Messi has never been one to be overwhelmed by the stage. He helped lead Argentina to the World Cup final this summer, so another El Clasico won't be too big for him. 

As proficient as Messi is at putting the ball in the net, what truly separates him from the pack and has made Barca impossible to beat thus far is the way he sets teammates up, via The Dutch Cule on Twitter:

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Lionel Messi is the number 1 playmaker in La Liga. • 28 chances created • 7 assists pic.twitter.com/9DM3vnjUPn

— TheDutchCule (@TheDutchCule) October 23, 2014"

When you combine Messi's ability to score and set up others with a Barcelona roster that includes Neymar, Xavi Hernandez, Ivan Rakitic et al., it's impossible for opponents to gear up for one player. Messi is the straw stirring the drink, but there are a lot of ingredients in the glass that make it great. 

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid

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The choice for Real Madrid's star to watch wasn't hard. It was made even easier when Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Gareth Bale would miss this match with an abdominal injury. 

While it was tempting to go with another scorer like Javier Hernandez or Karim Benzema, ultimately you want to see the best players have their best games on the biggest stage. If Real Madrid is going to end Barcelona's unbeaten season, Cristiano Ronaldo has to be at the top of his game. 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what Ronaldo means to Real Madrid, but in case you were curious, Nik Postinger of We Play has you covered:

In addition to his career-long proficiency, Ronaldo has literally been half of Los Blancos' offense with 15 of the team's 30 goals this season, per WhoScored.com.

You can argue that what Ronaldo does for his club is more impressive than what Messi does with his because of the talent around both players. That's not to say Real Madrid is lacking, just a compliment of how stacked Barcelona is right now.

Even though fans want to make this a straight one-on-one battle between Ronaldo and Messi, the Real Madrid star downplayed that to BBC Sports by saying he's "not going to play against Messi, I am going to [be] playing against Barcelona."

That's certainly the right attitude to take, though whoever wins will get all the accolades and kudos on social media.

Luis Suarez, Barcelona

David Ramos/Getty Images

While all eyes will be on Messi vs. Ronaldo, the biggest storyline for this El Clasico is the debut for Luis Suarez as a member of Barcelona, via FC Barcelona on Twitter:

The controversial superstar has finished a suspension stemming from his biting incident at the World Cup. 

This is a case of a coach just having an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. Luis Enrique said as much earlier in the week following a victory over Ajax, via FCBarcelona.com:

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[I am finding it hard to decide what eleven to field in Madrid] but that's a nice problem. Like any coach, I am trying to keep all of my players happy. Any of these players could start at the Bernabeu and could perform well.

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Suarez will be under a microscope, as he should be, given what he did in the World Cup. This is also a great chance for the 27-year-old star to reinvent himself on one of the biggest stages the sport has to offer. He sounds like someone who wants to change, telling Sid Lowe of The Guardian about what he went through:

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I thought I had ruined my career. After what happened at the World Cup I spoke to my wife, I reflected, and I accepted reality. I began to feel better after I had said sorry. That was when Barcelona came. When Pere [Guardiola, Suárez’s agent] called, I started crying. I was scared that they would back off because of the repercussion the incident caused.

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All the words in the world are nice to hear, but nothing will be proven until he gets on the pitch. Everyone knows how talented Suarez is. He came to Barcelona for moments like this. All he has to do is play his game without any of the other shenanigans clouding what makes him so great. 

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