Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Real Madrid and Barcelona will usher in a new era of El Clasico when the two sides face one another at Camp Nou on Saturday.
El Clasico, arguably world football's most high-profile fixture, has been dominated by the personal rivalries of its players and coaches in recent years.
But Saturday's installment of the rivalry will have a new feel after both sides underwent managerial changes during the summer.
Gone are the days when Jose Mourinho's colorful antics on the touchline clashed with the perpetual class of former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who was replaced as the Catalan manager by Tito Vilanova in 2012.
Carlo Ancelotti has assumed control of Madrid's managerial duties while the Catalans have turned to Gerardo Martino, but the offseason changes do not stop there.
Both clubs splurged during the summer transfer window as Barcelona bolstered its attack with the signing of Neymar while Madrid paid a record transfer fee to get Gareth Bale from Tottenham.
Injuries have derailed Bale's start to the season, but Ancelotti has tipped the Welshman to shine from this point forward.
"It is true that he didn't have an easy time (when he arrived), but he has worked hard," Ancelotti said of Bale. "We used the period of the international break to improve his condition and now, in my opinion and his opinion, he is ready to play from the beginning. When he begins to play it will be the real Bale."
Both clubs will be facing a bit of pressure to get the victory on Saturday with the two sides separated by just three points in the La Liga table. A win for Barcelona would drop Madrid six points back while a win for the Merengues would see the two storied clubs go level on 25 points apiece.
Any dropped points from the Catalans would give second-place Atletico Madrid the opportunity to move to the summit as the club welcomes Real Betis to the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.
Villarreal enters the weekend in fourth place in the Spanish top flight with 17 points. The club sits four points ahead of Valencia, which will try to inch closer to Villarreal with a win at El Madrigal on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Sevilla will look to extend its unbeaten run to five games when it welcomes Osasuna to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan while Real Sociedad attempts to kick-start its season with maximum points against last- place Almeria.
On Saturday, Malaga will attempt to snap a two-game slide when it goes up against Celta Vigo, Elche will go for its fourth straight win when it hosts Granada and Levante will square off against Espanyol at the Ciudad de Valencia.
On Monday, Athletic Bilbao will hope to inch closer to a spot inside the top- four with a positive result at Getafe. Friday's lone La Liga contest saw Valladolid collect a 3-0 road win at Rayo Vallecano.
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