The biggest matchup in European football takes place this Saturday when FC Barcelona travel to the Bernabeau to take on Real Madrid in El Clasico.

Real Madrid v Barcelona is live on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, December 10 at 4PM ET.

Both teams come into the matchup with momentum coming off meaningless Champions League matches after already qualifying for the next round and easy wins in week 15 of La Liga.  However Real Madrid look to be the club with the upper hand holding onto a three point lead at the top of La Liga with a match in hand.

If this match were being played a week ago I would have said that Real Madrid are the clear cut favorites to take the three points.  Barcelona have had a difficult November and injuries have devastated the defense.   With a draw against Bilbao and a 1-0 loss to Getafe the club was struggling.  However over the past week Barcelona have outscored their opponents 13-0 and look to be back on track; along with getting back many players that have been out with injuries.

With the addition of Alexis Sanchez back from injury he has added a much needed boost for the Barcelona frontline especially with Pedro still recovering from injury.  Alexis has scored three goals in his last two matches and looks to continue his run of form this weekend.  His pace and ability to chip from distance is sure to keep the Madrid backline busy.

The biggest difference between last season and this season for FC Barcelona is of course the addition of Cesc Fabregas.  Fabregas adds a whole new dimension to the Barcelona midfield and is sure to give Real Madrid some headaches.  He currently has seven goals in eleven league appearances at looks to be at the top of his game currently.

We all know that Barcelona have a high powered offense with the ability to put up five goals per match, however  I think that Mourinho will be looking to Pepe and Xabi Alonso in the midfield to lay down the hammer on our attack.  He will not try to match Barcelona pass for pass and push as he did in the 5-0 massacre early last season.

The key for me in the match will be Eric Abidal.  He will be given the lofty task of trying to contain both Ronaldo and DiMaria.  Ronaldo has been on a rampage this season tied with Lionel Messi for the Pichichi with 17 goals.  A frustrated Ronaldo is an ineffective Ronaldo and Abidal along with Carles Puyol will be doing their best to do so.

Make no mistakes about it; this is a MUST WIN for FC Barcelona.  With possibly a six point lead over Barcelona a loss would mean that they fall nine points behind Real Madrid going into the holiday break.  Yes we will see them again at the Camp Nou toward the end of the season but at the pace Madrid are blowing through the competition in La Liga we cannot depend on others to control our fate.

We are just two days away from the match and the fact that Jose Mourinho has remained silent kind of scares me.  There are no one liners, no smart-ass remarks about Pep or the antics with Tito, nothing.  Mourinho is the master of mind games and it will be interesting to see what he has up his sleeve come kickoff.

Bottom line for Real Madrid is if they do not win at home with all the momentum they will be going into the break wondering what in the world they have to do to defeat this side.  If they cannot win at their peak then I think Barcelona by far have the upper hand going into the second half of the season.

Prediction: 2-2, but really hoping for a 2-3 victory!!!