Title race
With Barcelona ahead of Real Madrid in the standings, the onus will be on the home side to breathe life into the title race and close the gap with their eternal rivals.
Aside from the plethora of world-class stars who will grace the stage on Satuday night, goals are always guaranteed in El Clasico, so much so that no La Liga meeting between the two has ended goalless since 2002.
Glamorous fixture
But while the 241st edition of world football's most glamorous fixture understandably draws a lot of the attention, it should not be forgotten that there is a lot more football taking place this weekend in the Spanish capital, as always.
Madrid of course has five teams in La Liga for the 2018-19 season, with the Santiago Solari-coached Real, joined by long-time historic rivals Atletico Madrid, along with other close neighbours Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Leganes.
Sub plot
Real Madrid have 12 Spanish players in their squad, while Barcelona have six. Following Spain are France and Brazil, each boasting seven players, conjuring up some interesting duels between players who won the 2018 World Cup together.
Barcelona have Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, Jean-Clair Todibo and Ousmane Dembele on their books, while Real Madrid have Luca Zidane, Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema.
Bernabeu ready
Saturday evening's huge game at the Bernabeu will make many headlines.
But the La Liga Clasico is just one element of Madrid's football weekend. There really is no other city like it... anywhere.