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The highly anticipated El Clasico is just three days away and the whole football world is buzzing with excitement. The encounter will be a very interesting one as Real Madrid who have scored 30 goals this season will be up against a Barcelona defense who are yet to concede a league goal this season. Victory is more important for Real than Barcelona as the side from Spanish capital is already 4 points behind the league leaders and a win will put them just one point behind Barcelona where as a loss will put them 7 points off the top and 7 points is a massive lead in La Liga.Saturday’s encounter will also be the first taste of El Clasico for many of the players and some of them could go on a make an everlasting impact with their performance. Here is a look at the top 5 debutants who could go on and make a mark in the game.Honorable Mentions: Javier Hernandez and Claudio BravoSource of Statistics: SQUAWKA
#5 Jeremy Mathieu
Many eyebrows were raised when Barcelona signed a 31-year-old defender with a well-known smoking habit for 20 million Euros as their replacement for Carlos Puyol.
The former Valencia man has answered his critics with his performances on the pitch. Mathieu started and completed seven out of Barcelona’s eight league games so far and has helped his side in keeping out all their oppositions so far. The Frenchman makes 2.86 interceptions and 3 clearances per game on an average and has won nearly 61% of all his duels all of which are an impressive return.
Mathieu will be up against a Real Madrid side who have been scoring goals for fun and he will need to be at his best to keep out the dangerous Cristiano Ronaldo and company. He will be looking to keep his defense organized when they will be facing their first real test in the league this season.
#4 Ivan Rakitic
Ivan Rakitic is no stranger to the Real Madrid team and fans. The Croatian spent the last three seasons with Sevilla and last season he had a great outing personally when his side played the Los Blancos. Rakitic scored a brace against Real at the Bernabeu of which one goal was a beauty from outside the box with his left foot and was on song again against Real Madrid when they visited Sevilla and this time he made a match winning assist in style which dented the Madrid’s sides title hopes.
Rakitic will be having a midfield battle against compatriot Luka Modric and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. The former Sevilla man has been a regular starter for the Catalan side and has shown that he is very comfortable playing the passing game with an impressive 91% pass completion rate and the Croatian has added his own flavour of long balls to their game which will certainly help in opening up the opposition defense.
In addition to creating chances for his teammates the midfielder has also scored two stunning goals for his new club. Rakitic’s work rate and ability on and off the ball combined with his experience playing against Real Madrid make him a very useful player for Barcelona in the El Clasico.
#3 Toni Kroos
The World Cup winner will be up against a team who like to dominate possession and he will have tough job of keeping the ball when his side win possession and he is more than capable of doing it as he averages over 93% pass completion in all competitions.
Kroos has been playing a deeper role in midfield for Real Madrid compared to the advanced position he often occupied for Germany and Bayern Munich and that has led to a decline in his contributions to his team in terms of goals. But the German possesses excellent long range shooting ability and that could come in handy if the home side are unable to open up a Barcelona defense who are yet to conceded a league goal this season. And if he does score then it would be a great way to score your first goal for your new club.
Kroos is also known for his excellent set-piece delivery and his top-notch crosses could come in handy to score a goal as the Catalans have been exposed from set-pieces quite often.
#2 James Rodriguez
The Golden Boot winner at the FIFA World Cup made his dream move to the Spanish Capital following his heroics at the tournament. But the Colombian got off to a slow start with Real as he failed to make a direct impact on the game when Madrid went on to lose 2 out of their opening three La Liga games.
James then scored his first goal in a Champions League game against Basel and followed this up with a goal and an assist against Deportivo La Coruna in the very next game. He has now scored four and assisted three goals for Real Madrid and will be looking to add to the tally on Saturday.
Real Madrid are likely to miss Gareth Bale through an injury and this could be James’ best chance to put in a match winning performance and provide able support to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
#1 Luis Suarez
Irrespective of who plays and scores, the spotlight will be on Luis Suarez this Saturday. The Uruguayan could make his first competitive appearance for Barcelona after his big money move from Liverpool this summer.
The controversial striker was banned for four months for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup and the Barcelona fans have been waiting eagerly since his move to see the star trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez in action together.
Suarez is unlikely to start a game of such a high magnitude due to his lack of match practice, but it is almost guaranteed that he will come off the bench to make his Barcelona debut.
The Uruguayan was in terrific form for Liverpool last season during which he scored 31 goals in 33 league games for them and he was awarded the European Golden Boot for the same. Suarez was in similar form during the World Cup where he scored 2 goals in 2 games before his actions ended his tournament prematurely.
He recently made his return to the National team set up and scored a brace against Oman in a friendly match and has showed that a lack of playing time hasn’t made his rusty in any way.
