Luis Suarez Talks Lionel Messi, Neymar, Barcelona, Real Madrid Ahead of Clasico

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez is happy to bear the tag of favourites moving toward his side's first El Clasico of the season, opening up on his relationship with Lionel Messi, Neymar and what it means to face Real Madrid.

The Blaugrana boast a three-point cushion at the summit of La Liga and have the opportunity to move clear at the top with three points this Saturday, but Suarez isn't sweating under that pressure, per Juan Manuel Diaz of Catalan newspaper Sport:

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Going into the game as the favourite is the best way to motivate your opponent, and when one team appears to be weaker heading into a game like this, the opposite often ends up happening. Real Madrid are Real Madrid, we know what they can do, we know that they have the top players and we will need to really concentrate.

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Atletico Madrid sit just a point behind Los Merengues at third in the Spanish top flight, so even a win at the Bernabeu won't bring about any title guarantees for Luis Enrique's men.

Suarez is still a relatively new fixture in El Clasico and had the honour of making his Spanish debut in a meeting against Real last year. But title races are not a new experience for the striker, who added this season's crown is a long way off, per Squawka:

Barcelona ran to a European and domestic treble last season, with Suarez spearheading a three-pronged front line alongside Messi and Neymar, a trio that stands to this day as the most devastating on the continent.

However, there is not competition between the three components that comprise MSN—the moniker used to refer to Messi, Suarez and Neymar—outlining the need for an unselfish approach, according to Sport's Rik Sharma:

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Only time will tell if we are one of the best strike forces of all time but we get on really well and I’m delighted if Neymar scores a hat-trick. However, without the support of the midfield and the rest of the team we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we have achieved.

Messi is on top of everyone, for what he's done and what he's doing. And Neymar at the moment is just behind Leo, and I'm enjoying playing by his side. He could be the second best player in the world right now.

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It's pleasing to see Suarez is so focused on the benefits of the team above all else. At former clubs Ajax and Liverpool, he was very much the talisman, the go-to man, but playing at the Camp Nou has inspired another side of his ability.

Spanish football writer Rafael Hernandez supported the notion that team achievements outweigh all else and, although incredible talents on an individual scale, Messi, Neymar and Suarez help mould the best outfit:

Speaking on whether Messi will recover from his two-month absence to feature against Real, Suarez said he doesn't know if his revered team-mate will start, "but he's a player who makes the difference," per Sharma.

The evidence speaks for itself in this argument regarding team merits over their individual counterparts. Suarez won domestic titles in the Netherlands scoring 49 goals in the 2009-10 campaign with Ajax before netting 30 goals or more in back-to-back seasons with Liverpool, where his greatest feat was the League Cup in 2010-11.

Paul White/Associated Press

In contrast, the forward bagged just 25 goals last season, a tally he's bettered in four of his past seasons. But the reward of a treble earlier in 2015 was the greatest accomplishment of his career to date, proud to bring the best out of his team-mates as much as himself.

Suarez is also hunting for redemption at the Bernabeu this time around, having suffered a 3-1 defeat in that debut appearance for Barca, giving Enrique's unselfish leading man more motivation to thrive under pressure.