El Clasico: Real Madrid vs Barcelona Combined XI

El Clasico, that mother of all football matches, is almost upon us and with so much riding on it this season - a Barcelona win could well see them pull impossibly away from their great rivals, a Real Madrid win would give the defending champions enough hope to get them through the Christmas break - it promises to be a cracker.

Now, with every Clasico, someone is always tasked with the thankless task of picking out a combined XI - attempting to fit in everyone into the team, yet keep some semblance of sanity and reason in terms of formation and personnel... this year the privilege has fallen to yours truly.

Without much ado, then, let's see who makes the term - based purely on current form -

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Goalkeeper

GK: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

*

The German had a few question marks having over him last season, but in 2017-18 he's hardly put a foot - or a glove - wrong. Upping his game to the levels he was always hyped up to reach, Ter Stegen has been a fundamental part of Barcelona's resurgence this season.

While his ability to play the ball out of the back was never under scrutiny, nor was his shot-stopping, his new-found confidence to command the box and marshall the defence in front of him has turned him into the best goalkeeper in Spain.

Defenders

RB: Dani Carvajal

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This one's rather easy considering the constantly shifting dynamics of the personnel available for Barcelona. While Nelson Semedo is a highly promising talent and Sergi Roberto a great professional, neither hold a candle to the wiles of Dani Carvajal... and Spain's no. 1 right-back takes his place in a back four that he is more or less at home with.

RCB: Gerard Pique (captain)

For too long now, Gerard Pique has had to hold makeshift Barcelona defences together and last season it appeared like the strain was getting to the Catalan, but with the coming of age of Samuel Umtiti (who misses out on this team purely because of the fact that he is injured, and is out till early Feb '18 according to reports) Pique has looked like he's getting back to his brilliant best.

LCB: Raphael Varane

While most of you would foaming at your mouth for the blasphemous act leaving out Sergio Ramos from any XI he is eligible for, the fact of the matter is that this season his French partner, Raphael Varane, has been much more consistent in defence... while Ramos' greatness is undisputed, Varane has all the ingredients to be an all-time Madrid great and he appears to be peaking just at the right time for Los Blancos.

LB: Jordi Alba

*

Last year, there was only ever going to be one winner for this position... and that would have been Marcelo. Two things, though, have allowed Jordi Alba to oust the charismatic Brazilian from the XI - a downtick in Marcelo's form (compounded by a three-week layoff due to a muscle injury) and a sudden upturn in Jordi Alba's form (the Catalan getting back to his attacking best after the departure of Neymar freed up the left flank for him once again).

Midfielders

Toni Kroos

*

The German is arguably the best midfielder in the league, and he edges out the two Croatians who have a valid claim for one of these three spots - Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic - by simply being in better form than the other two.

His set-piece ability also marks him a notch above his competition while his ability to mix his box-to-box duties with that of a deep-lying midfielder is unmatched by anyone on the planet.

Sergio Busquets

The Catalan looked a touch lost last season as Barca's migration from a midfield-based powerhouse to being completely dependent on arguably the greatest trio of forwards ever assembled reached its zenith.

But with Valverde pulling the attention back to the area that the club considers integral to its identity, Busquets has returned to the kind of form that made him the best holding midfielder on the planet.

His recent form has made him undroppable - and that's the only reason why Casemiro does not make this XI

Paulinho

*

Everyone laughed at the price tag and the name and the league he came from. No one saw this coming.

Paulinho has been the signing of the season in La Liga with his combination of endless running, pure athleticism and power, neat passing, and uncanny knack to make the most incisive off-the-ball runs (a la Frank Lampard) and he has made Barcelona the powerhouse team they are at the moment.

Forwards

RF: Lionel Messi

*

Oh, Leo Messi.

He started La Liga 2017-18 like he wanted to win the damn thing before it even began, and although, he went through a slight slump (four games in which he didn't score - normal for most, a slump for Leo), he is back to his inimitable best.

Combine that with his impeccable Clasico record (24 goals and 13 assists - the most of any player in history) and there's no way he's not making the cut.

CF: Cristiano Ronaldo

*

Hah. You thought I wouldn't pick him?

Cristiano Ronaldo may not have been in the best of form in La Liga (before the presentation of his fifth Ballon d'Or - after it, against Sevilla, he was unplayable) but as he showed by setting a new record in the Champions League (scoring in every game of the group stages - the first person to do so) and by winning Madrid the much-maligned Club World Cup he is still at the peak of his considerable goalscoring powers, and it'd take an idiot to drop him from any XI he is eligble to play in

LF: Andres Iniesta

*

Last season, Andres Iniesta would have made this team purely on the basis of nostalgia. Over large parts of the past two seasons the great man had dwindled and diminished into a shadow of his former self, but much like with Busquets, a return to the possession-and-midfield oriented philosophy has breathed new life into him.

At times this season, Iniesta has taken the breath away with his performances and there can be no better player for this position in this combined XI

The team, then:

GK: Ter Stegen

DEF: Carvajal, Pique, Varane, Alba

MID: Kroos, Busquets, Paulinho

FW: Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta

Manager

Ernesto Valverde

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A lot of people laughed at the appointment of Ernesto Valverde at Barcelona - the all knowing, all powerful lot that run Twitter passing their swift judgements based solely on the fact that a) he wasn't a big enough name or b) "who the actual is this fellow?" and promptly declaring that Barcelona had lost their ability to attract big names to the Camp Nou.

What utter hogwash.

The Basque has slipped into the Camp Nou dugout with sublime ease and has transformed Barcelona's spirits - making their team a lot more steely and resilient, while at the same time returning them to the midfield-based-supremacy of yesteryears.

His choice, then, is not due to any poor performances from Zidane's behalf... but simply because he has been oh so impressive.