Spain

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet for the 173rd La Liga edition of the El Clasico on Saturday, December 3. This encounter at the Camp Nou, although only December, will go along way towards deciding who wins the 2016-17 La Liga title: Real Madrid are currently first in the table while Barcelona are second, six points behind. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the match, either live streaming online or on TV through your cable provider.

All was not perfect in Cristiano Ronaldo’s world during the lead up to El Clasico in April 2012. 

He was one of the world’s two best players, in the midst of a colossal goal scoring run and on his way to his lone La Liga title with Real Madrid. But still, things were merely good — not great. The reason being because his Los Blancos squad was universally viewed as Barcelona's whipping boys. 

The arguably the biggest game in club football, otherwise known as “El Clasico”, is set to take place this Saturday at the Camp Nou as Barcelona host Real Madrid.

Both teams are in opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to recent form. The hosts are winless in three of their last four matches, while the visitors from Madrid have won all five of their last five fixtures. They are still undefeated this season in all competitions, the only club in Europe’s top five leagues yet to lose, while Barcelona have already suffered three defeats.

When a normal person wakes up, there's a process to be gone through before one gets enough energy to go outside and be a person. Generally there's some combination of a shower, breakfast, coffee and maybe exercise before one is ready to meet the day. Humans are ike diesel engines. It takes us a while to get properly revved up.

Except for Cristiano Ronaldo, who may not even be a human, just a 6'2" bundle of pure energy, hair gel and abs, and who gets out of bed like no human being before him.

World Soccer magazine, established in 1960, has been handing out their Player of the Year award since 1982, establishing itself as one of the most well-respected accolades in the game. Since 2005, the winner of the World Soccer Player of the Year has subsequently been named the Ballon d’Or recipient. 

Twenty-one-year-old Enzo Alan Zidane Fernandez, known more commonly as Enzo, was handed his senior Real Madrid debut by manager and father Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday. With Madrid holding a 7-1 advantage in their Copa del Rey fixture following the first leg, it was something of a training exercise against Cultural Leonesa, a club in the third level of the Spanish football league system.

Heading into Saturday’s El Clasico on the wrong side of a six-point gap in La Liga is a less than ideal situation for Barcelona, but the mounting injuries among their defensive back line make the task at hand that much more difficult.

Real Madrid lead the Spanish league with 36 goals scored, and Barcelona’s defensive record of 14 goals conceded puts them behind the likes of Real, Atletico, Villareal and even with Real Sociedad. 

With the approach of El Clasico everything must go under the microscope. The designated referee for the match, Carlos Clos Gomez, has not been left unturned in that regard. According to some, Clos Gomez exhibits a distinctly pro-Barcelona flair, and they’ve got the statistics to prove it.

Toni Kroos has announced his intention to retire. Maybe. In six years, at the end of his Real Madrid contract.

As a winner of the World Cup and the Champions League, maybe Kroos feels like he should go out on top, should he stay on top for the next six years?

From Kicker:

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta returned to training Friday and could yet play a significant role in Saturday’s El Clasico against Real Madrid. The original timeline for Iniesta’s recovery, stated as six to eight weeks, made his participation an extreme doubt.