Who will win this season's first Clasico?

 

The race for this season's La Liga crown reaches a crossroads on Saturday when Real Madrid and Barcelona collide in the first Clasico encounter of the 2015-16 campaign.

League leaders Barca head to the Santiago Bernabeu with a precious three-point lead over their derby rivals, but Los Merengues can go a long way in rescuing their season if they manage to emerge with three points in Week 12.



Rafa Benitez's side lost 3-2 to Sevilla in their most recent outing, but the team now has a cleaner bill of health after seeing Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Sergio Ramos return to their ranks.
Striker Karim Benzema remains a doubt for Saturday's hosts, however, after Spanish radio station COPE reported he's struggling with a recurring hamstring injury (via Spanish newspaper AS).
The Daily Mail's John Downes wrote last week that goalkeeper Keylor Navas is in a race to be fit for the clash:
But the biggest question of the weekend is whether Lionel Messi will make a timely return from his knee injury to feature in Madrid, having last played on September 26.
Manager Luis Enrique has coped with a difficult injury list of late, with Rafinha out until 2016 and Ivan Rakitic looking to be fit for Saturday's outing, according to AS (h/t Football Espana).
Taking all those potential absences into account, we've selected one player from each Clasico combatant bearing the biggest responsibilities this week.