Barcelona, Spain – In a match that needs no introduction, Barcelona puts its unblemished league record on the line in its toughest test to date as it welcomes Real Madrid to Camp Nou.
Like every season, Real Madrid is Barcelona's biggest threat to the La Liga title, but this campaign has seen the reigning La Liga champions stumble out of the blocks with just 10 points through six games.
Barcelona sits atop Spain's top flight with 18 points, and a win in El Clasico on Sunday would lift the Catalans to an 11-point lead.
"We have a great opportunity to beat Madrid and leave them 11 points behind us, but the season has really only just begun and it's too early to be making calculations about what could happen, though it would be a big lead," Barcelona's Xavi said. "We are coming into the game in good form, we are getting players back from injury and we are on a good run and full of confidence. Based on that, we'll be going out to put in a good performance that the fans and we ourselves will enjoy."
Despite the club's disappointing start to the season, El Clasico could be coming at just the right time for Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho's side has won two league matches in a row by a combined score of 7-1 while kicking off its Champions League campaign with two wins from two.
Cristiano Ronaldo is finding the back of the net on a consistent basis for Madrid. The Portuguese star is leading the Champions League with four goals through two games and is sitting tied with Barcelona's Lionel Messi for second place in the La Liga scoring chart with six goals in league play.
If Ronaldo brings his rich vein of form into Camp Nou, Real Madrid very well could walk away with three points.
In another massive fixture on Sunday, second-place Atletico Madrid will put its five-game winning run to the test when it welcomes third-place Malaga to the Vicente Calderon. Both sides are unbeaten thus far with Atletico taking 16 points and Malaga taking 14 points from their six league games.
Also on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao welcomes lowly Osasuna to San Memes, Mallorca hosts Granada Estadio Son Moix and Valencia heads to the Ciutat de Valencia for a derby match against Levante.
On Saturday, Real Betis welcomes Real Sociedad to the Benito Villamarin, Valladolid hosts Espanyol at the Jose Zorrilla, Real Zaragoza faces Getafe at La Romareda and Deportivo heads to the Teresa Rivero to take on Rayo Vallecano.
On Friday, Celta Vigo rode second-half goals to a 2-0 victory over Sevilla.
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