El Clasico: 3 reasons Barcelona will defeat Real Madrid

In the most anticipated match in the club football calendar, Real Madrid will admit Barcelona to the Bernabeu on Saturday in the latest showdown between these bitter rivals.

It is a contest that has been tight lately, but one that hasn't had a goalless affair in 13 years. Still, El Clasicos don't pass without incident: in that 0-0 draw, a pig's head was hurled at Los Blancos midfielder Figo by the Barca support, 28 months after he had switched sides. There are few worse acts of treachery in the world's game.

Saturday's clash will be played in a tumultuous atmosphere, but the quality of the teams also means it is a match that will be blessed with great trickery and invention.

It is a match where, ultimately, Barcelona will triumph. And here's why:

Neymar and Suarez are on fire

When Lionel Messi tore the internal collateral ligament of his left knee, it was all doom and gloom. The South American triumvirate of Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez was cruelly broken up, and in the previous five La Liga matches Barca had only mustered six goals anyway - five less than at the same point of the previous season.

The side has since stretched a three-point lead over Real atop La Liga, and all of the last 16 La Liga goals since Messi limped off against Las Palmas have been shared equally between Neymar and Suarez. The former is particularly rampant.

Last time out, he pulled down the pants of Jaume Costa with three touches - and none of it was the fault of the defender:

To make matters worse for the home side on Saturday, there's a chance the on-song duo could be reunited with Messi, who returned to training Monday.

Pique and his defensive colleagues have shored things up

There is no man more desperate for a win in this tie than proud Catalonian Gerard Pique. The 72-time Spanish international has never made great efforts to hide his disdain for Barca's great rival.

The beginning of the season didn't look too promising defensively for Pique and co. though, with the backline conceding 22 goals in its first 13 competitive matches and looking uncharacteristically disorganised.

In the six games since, just one goal - last month, from Eibar's Borja Baston - has been let in. And that anomaly was down to a Marc Barta error, who has only appeared against third-tier Villanovense in the Copa del Rey since.

Out-of-sorts Ronaldo means an out-of-sorts Los Blancos

Cristiano Ronaldo is lost.

By many players' standards, a run of eight games with three goals is far from a barren spell, but the Portuguese star's recent play is a concern considering the exceptionally high bar he's set for himself.

The 30-year-old simply looks a different person under new manager Rafael Benitez than he did with predecessor Carlo Ancelotti.

Off the pitch, the talks of Ronaldo being interested in a move from the Spanish capital have substance: You don't need a psychologist to recognise that the forward hasn't taken to Rafa the gaffer. And on the pitch he cuts a frustrated and confused figure in a new, lonely role up front. He had scored 10 more goals at this stage last term.

As skipper and the most influential member of the squad, his poor morale undoubtedly trickles down to those he shares a dressing room with. The defending last time out - a 3-2 loss to an under-performing Sevilla - left a great worry stewing over the international break. Additionally, has Sergio Ramos - who will be skippering in his first El Clasico - really shrugged off that troublesome shoulder injury? That looked longer than a two-week layoff.