Many pundits have hinted that whoever wins tonights titanium El Clasico battle should start cleaning up their trophy cabinet as they will surely bag the La Liga crown. Call it optimism at its best but this will be one huge battle that's different from many El Clasico's for a number of reasons.
In the context of this week's events, the massive Real Madrid and Barcelona encounter at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium should be one of the victorious versus the humiliated; the confident versus the frustrated; the leaders versus the followers; and the European record-setters versus the onlookers.
But none of that will count when the 233rd edition of El Clasico is played in Madrid on Sunday. When the two sides take to the field, history and current form will be merely academic. The sides will be equal and the ancient rivalry will be raw.
The thing about El Clasico is that it is never boring. Many other derbies – including our own Soweto derby – have their off days and do not live up to the hype.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has revealed that he hopes to be able to "console" Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic after the game.
The second El Clasico of the 2016-17 campaign will take place in the Spanish capital on Sunday night as La Liga leaders Real Madrid welcome second-place Barcelona, who are three points off the pace in the table.
Victory for Real Madrid would place Los Blancos in a very strong position in Spain's top flight, and Modric is hoping to get one over on his fellow Croatian international Rakitic this weekend.
If you are not among the more than 500 million human beings watching Sunday evening's game, you are wasting our precious oxygen.
