Barcelona against Real Madrid

Iniesta looks up and sees Alves on a run but the galloping Brazilian full-back has gone too early and is offside when the ball is played to him.

Real have a corner and the ball breaks to Raul who scuffs his shot somewhat before Xavi gets it away.

Puyol has just belted the ball eighty yards up the park with the sort of clearance that would win admiring glancs from Jack Charlton.

Raul holds his head as Benzema fails to finish off his flick from eight yards out. Another good chance goes begging for Real.

Corner to Real after Kaka's shot struck the thigh of Alves.

A nasty tackle from Marcelo on Puyol and the Barca captain is sent sprawling. Marcelo is booked for his troubles.

Alvs picks out Xavi who has got in behind the Real defence but they are quick to get back and ensure he does not get a clear run at goal. At the other end, Kaka goes on a mazy run and wins a corner for the visitors but Ramos heads that over the bar.

Xavi threads an inch perfect ball though to Abidal who sizes up his shot and hits it across Casillas but his low shot is inches wide of the far post.

Corner to Barcelona which Alves delivers. It's poor though and Alonso picks it up to clear the danger for Real.

The wily veteran Raul is about to join the fray and Real are taking off Arbeloa as Manuel Pellegrini decides to go for broke here.

Pique knocks the ball out for a corner and the Real team come up. Xavis is first to it and his header reaches Marcelo whose shots is well wide.

Diarra feeds Benzema who makes himself half a yard of space to get his shot in - it's off target but the subsitute has been involved in all the Real attacks since coming on.

Kaka floats though the Barca defence then squares it back to Benzema who looks a bit rusty as he loses out in the Barca penalty area.

Wonderful winding run from Messi and Pepe, who knows it, is well beaten and takes him down. Pique is then inches away from hitting the target with a header.

Benzema's fist touch is swiftly ended by Iniesta who takes the ball from him.

Alves is brought down by Kaka this time and the full-back has not needed to be asked twice to hit the deck when challenged this evening.

Alonso is penalised for a foul on Abidal and Ibrahimovic is then blown up for straying offside.

Ronaldo heads over from ten yards and holds his head in dismay. It's his last contribution too as Benzema takes his place.

Ronaldo receives it wdde and beats Alves but Pique puts in a fantastic tackle as his old team-mate heads straight towards him.

Oh dear Sergio Busquets. A second yellow card for a deliberate handball sees him get his marching orders. Is that the break Real need? Although Busquets has been arguably the least effective performer for Barca this evening.

Ramos, again, wins a great tackle, this time taking it firmly from Abidal.

Karim Benzema is warming up on the touchline and a change could be afoot shortly for Real.

Messi appeals for a foul but the referee is not interested.

It was a marvellous cross from Alves whose delivery had looked a little suspect allnight. Nothing wrong with that one though and Ibrahimovic made no mistake once invited to finish it off.

The big Swede gets on the end of an Alves cross and, in his first El Clasico, hammers home an unstoppable volley from ten yards out. What an introduction from the substitute.

GOAL: Ibrahimovic

Careless from Xavi and Ronaldo races towards goal before Pique comes away with the ball.

Ronaldo wins the ball but Alves makes the most of it to earn a free-kick.

Real have broke three times now and carved open Barcelona clearly. They may rue those missed opportunities.

Xavi hits a shot that goes out for a corner and Ramos then gets it out to Higuain as Real break. He cuts inside before a wonderful tackle from Puyol to stop him from as he prepared to pull the trigger.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic comes on and Henry, not surprisingly, is the man to make way.

Messi is held back from Diarra and, not before time, the Real man's name is put in the book.

Messi finds Iniesta who crosses well but Albiol is on hand to head the ball away.

Firm tackle on Iniesta from Ramos who has been superb so far for Real.

Jeers and whistles signal the re-emergence of the Real fans before the champions re-appear and it is they who get us underway once more.

HALF-TIME: It was never going to live up to it's cast or billing but the product so far has been fairly fascinating. A goal for Real would provoke a fairly exciting response from Barca though...

Henry - who has lookes sluggish tonight - is again caught offside and the ex-Arsenal man is cutting something of a peripheral figure.

Alves comes down the right but Arbeloa challenges him and then gambles that the linesman will notice that the ball last touched the Barca man - he gambles successfully and Real get the goal-kick.

Busquets is helped to his feet after Alonso wins a tackle on him but he is walking about now. Ronaldo seemed to be having a few verbals with Iniesta just then which did not go down too well with the Nou Camp faithful

Iniesta dances around Diarra before the ball goes out for a throw-in. Ronaldo is moaning about something or other which provokes a reaction from the crowd.

The play from both sides has at times been enthralling but the game has not burst fully into life, although it has threatened to on occasion. Real have probably had the best clear-cut chances so far but Barca look commanding when in possession.

Iniesta asks questions of both Pepe and Henry and, despite a headstart, the Barca man loses out in that test of speed.

Henry was returning from an offside position as Messi was heading towards goal and the linesman's flag signals a free-kick to Real.

Ramos again clears the danger as Keita received the corner in the midle of the Real penalty area. Casillas then gets down well to smother a cross from Iniesta as it is played across his six yard line.

Iniesta is brought to ground by Diarra but the ref plays advantage and his decision yields a corner for the home side.

Keita, in space on the left, decides to cut the ball back when a cross into the middle would have been the better bet. They know nothing these people!

Four Barca players are around Kaka as he looks to break and Barca come away with the ball. Iniesta tries to find a way past Ramos and goes to ground a bit too easily for the referee's liking. No free-kick.

Messi is unceremoniously dumped by Arbeloa and the defender's challenge provokes the referee into action - yellow card to you sonny.

Ramos now goes on a run and is brought down to win a free-kick which Alonso takes. Abidal gets back to clear the danger and prove he is over his bout of swine flu.

Brilliant intervention from Sergio Ramos who stretches to reach a pass intended for Thierry Henry and just gets his toes to it.

Messi beats Pepe but then Diarra takes him down with a trip to concede a free-kick.

Keita is down injured and clutching his neck after a challenge on Ramos - he's up now though and all is well.

Great run from Kaka but he hits his pass straight to the grateful legs of Carlos Puyol.

Ramos finds Marcelo with a crossfield pass but Barca win it back and Xavi then Iniesta start a Barcelona counter-attack which is thwarted by Thierry Henry straying offside.

Ronaldo's run is tracked by Pique who blocks his pass but then Carlos Puyol has to speed across to put in a vital block on Marcelo as he looked certain to get a shot on target from ten yards out. Great defending.

Pique hits a long ball towards the goalwards-bound Keita but the pass is fractionally too long for the midfield enforcer.

Pique clears the ball as Higuain lurked and Real looked to counter again. This would seem to be Real's ploy for the evening and with the speed of Ronaldo in their armoury there will be danger each time they break.

Iniesta attacks down the left and his cross evades the attentions of Sergio Ramos but heads all the way over to the other side of the pitch where Alves tries in vain to keep it in play.

Ronaldo rerturns the favour with a backheel to Kaka but Valdes again is equal to the danger as he charges from his goal to tackle the Brazilian.

Kaka flies towards the Barcelona goal, comes inside Pique and then finds Ronaldo with a great pass but his effort is saved well by Valdes. From the corner, Barca are able to clear their ranks but Ronaldo has just missed the game's best chance.

Ramos gets back well to put in a tackle on Abidal but Barca have the corner. Ramos, again, clears the danger as he rises up to head the ball out for a throw-in.

Keita steals the ball back from Higuain with a fine tackle.

Alonso finds ex-Liverpool team-mate Arbeloa on the left but Barca crowd him out to win the ball back quickly.

Xavi again sends a high ball over the Real defence this time towards Messi who is a good few yards offside.

Iniesta spots a run from Xavi and sends a delightful lifted ball in his direction. Casillas sees it too and is quickly out of his goal to claim the ball.

It's not a classic from the ex-Manchester United man whose effort strikes the wall.

Ronaldo turns and heads menancingly towards goal before Busquets hacks him down. He is lucky to miss out on a yellow card but Ronaldo may punish him from the free-kick.

Xavi tries his luck from distance but it's a good two feet over the Real crossbar.

Messi's low centre of gravity allows him to beat his man and switch feet quickly to bring in Henry whose cross fails to find a Barca man. Messi is looking up for it.

Messi takes the ball from Diarra before losing out to Pepe who goes down a bit easy to win the free-kick.

Real look to break and Ronaldo shows his speed to skip past Puyol and then play a clever pass across goal. The shot from Marcelo was poor but the ease with which Ronaldo beat the Barca captain will worry Pep Guardiola.

Real gift Barcelona possession after a careless pass from Sergio Ramos and Barca are hassling and closing down Real quickly so far.

Alves looks accusingly at the pitch after delivering another poor cross but it came from a neat flick from Lionel Messi.

Iniesta lines up on the left hand side of the Barca midfield. He passes to Keita who is firmly dumped by Diarra.

Higuain keeps Raul out of the side which is a reward for his good form. Meanwile Daniel Alves puts in a terrible cross which drifts out for a goal-kick.

Kick-off, or lift-off, gets us underway and the atmosphere inside the stadium sounds electric as you would expect.

The teams line-up and Barca have their pre-match photo taken. Shrill whistles ring our around the Camp Nou, presumably intended to welcome the visitors from Real Madrid as the Barca fans flaunt their colours around the stadium.

The weight of expectation is huge - can this galaxy of stars deliver?

The teams for tonight are: Barcelona:Víctor Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Henry, Messi, Iniesta. Real Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Arbeloa, Lass, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo, Cristiano, Kaká, Higuaín

Barcelona's 2-0 win over Inter Milan the night before was all the more impressive given both Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were unused subs at the Nou Camp but they too have stuttered. The home defeat by Rubin Kazan equalling Real's Copa del Rey thrashing at the hands of Alcorcon in shock factor. Messi starts too and his duel with Ronaldo will be played out once more after the Argentinian came out on top in Rome in the Champions League final.

Both sides have flattered to deceive so far this season. Real have missed Ronaldo who hit the ground running in La Liga by bagging seven goals in his first nine games. He returned for the final twenty minutes against Zurich in midweek and starts tonight.

The opening fixture last season was a closer affair with Iker Casillas inspired, Royston Drenthe profligate and Lionel Messi (despite some cynical targeting from the Real players) applying the coup de grace in a 2-0 Barca win in Juande Ramos's first game in charge of Real.

Another 6-2 scoreline is certainly unlikely. The last team these two met they produced one of the most astonishing top flight games of football ever witnessed with Barca ransacking the Bernabeu to all but secure the title.

It came in the form of an audacious series of Fiorentino Perez-sanctioned signings that almost immediately shifted the media glare from Barca's conquering Champions League heroes to the new breed of los Merengues. Kaka. Ronaldo. Benzema. The most expensive assembly of players in the history of the game will take the field this evening and the world will be able to judge for themselves if Real's approach has brought them closer to Barca.

Camp Nou is the setting for the clash between first and second but there is so much more than mere league standings at stake tonight. Barcelona's unprecedented haul of trophies last season demanded a swift response from Real.

This is the game the world has been waiting for. The intensity of the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid ensures that El Clasico will always draw the attention of diehards and those who hold only the most cursory of interests in La Liga alike. The season's first meeting between these two old foes is probably the most hotly anticipated ever.

Join Joe Duggan for your live commentary of El Clasico with kick-off at 6 PM.

Alves is brought down by Kaka this time and the full-back has not needed to be asked twice to hit the deck when challenged this evening.

Alonso is penalised for a foul on Abidal and Ibrahimovic is then blown up for straying offside.

Ronaldo heads over from ten yards and holds his head in dismay. It's his last contribution too as Benzema takes his place.

Ronaldo receives it wdde and beats Alves but Pique puts in a fantastic tackle as his old team-mate heads straight towards him.

Oh dear Sergio Busquets. A second yellow card for a deliberate handball sees him get his marching orders. Is that the break Real need? Although Busquets has been arguably the least effective performer for Barca this evening.

Ramos, again, wins a great tackle, this time taking it firmly from Abidal.

Karim Benzema is warming up on the touchline and a change could be afoot shortly for Real.

Messi appeals for a foul but the referee is not interested.

It was a marvellous cross from Alves whose delivery had looked a little suspect allnight. Nothing wrong with that one though and Ibrahimovic made no mistake once invited to finish it off.

The big Swede gets on the end of an Alves cross and, in his first El Clasico, hammers home an unstoppable volley from ten yards out. What an introduction from the substitute.

GOAL: Ibrahimovic

Careless from Xavi and Ronaldo races towards goal before Pique comes away with the ball.

Ronaldo wins the ball but Alves makes the most of it to earn a free-kick.

Real have broke three times now and carved open Barcelona clearly. They may rue those missed opportunities.

Xavi hits a shot that goes out for a corner and Ramos then gets it out to Higuain as Real break. He cuts inside before a wonderful tackle from Puyol to stop him from as he prepared to pull the trigger.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic comes on and Henry, not surprisingly, is the man to make way.

Messi is held back from Diarra and, not before time, the Real man's name is put in the book.

Messi finds Iniesta who crosses well but Albiol is on hand to head the ball away.

Firm tackle on Iniesta from Ramos who has been superb so far for Real.

Jeers and whistles signal the re-emergence of the Real fans before the champions re-appear and it is they who get us underway once more.

HALF-TIME: It was never going to live up to it's cast or billing but the product so far has been fairly fascinating. A goal for Real would provoke a fairly exciting response from Barca though...

Henry - who has lookes sluggish tonight - is again caught offside and the ex-Arsenal man is cutting something of a peripheral figure.

Alves comes down the right but Arbeloa challenges him and then gambles that the linesman will notice that the ball last touched the Barca man - he gambles successfully and Real get the goal-kick.

Busquets is helped to his feet after Alonso wins a tackle on him but he is walking about now. Ronaldo seemed to be having a few verbals with Iniesta just then which did not go down too well with the Nou Camp faithful

Iniesta dances around Diarra before the ball goes out for a throw-in. Ronaldo is moaning about something or other which provokes a reaction from the crowd.

The play from both sides has at times been enthralling but the game has not burst fully into life, although it has threatened to on occasion. Real have probably had the best clear-cut chances so far but Barca look commanding when in possession.

Iniesta asks questions of both Pepe and Henry and, despite a headstart, the Barca man loses out in that test of speed.

Henry was returning from an offside position as Messi was heading towards goal and the linesman's flag signals a free-kick to Real.

Ramos again clears the danger as Keita received the corner in the midle of the Real penalty area. Casillas then gets down well to smother a cross from Iniesta as it is played across his six yard line.

Iniesta is brought to ground by Diarra but the ref plays advantage and his decision yields a corner for the home side.

Keita, in space on the left, decides to cut the ball back when a cross into the middle would have been the better bet. They know nothing these people!

Four Barca players are around Kaka as he looks to break and Barca come away with the ball. Iniesta tries to find a way past Ramos and goes to ground a bit too easily for the referee's liking. No free-kick.

Messi is unceremoniously dumped by Arbeloa and the defender's challenge provokes the referee into action - yellow card to you sonny.

Ramos now goes on a run and is brought down to win a free-kick which Alonso takes. Abidal gets back to clear the danger and prove he is over his bout of swine flu.

Brilliant intervention from Sergio Ramos who stretches to reach a pass intended for Thierry Henry and just gets his toes to it.

Messi beats Pepe but then Diarra takes him down with a trip to concede a free-kick.

Keita is down injured and clutching his neck after a challenge on Ramos - he's up now though and all is well.

Great run from Kaka but he hits his pass straight to the grateful legs of Carlos Puyol.

Ramos finds Marcelo with a crossfield pass but Barca win it back and Xavi then Iniesta start a Barcelona counter-attack which is thwarted by Thierry Henry straying offside.

Ronaldo's run is tracked by Pique who blocks his pass but then Carlos Puyol has to speed across to put in a vital block on Marcelo as he looked certain to get a shot on target from ten yards out. Great defending.

Pique hits a long ball towards the goalwards-bound Keita but the pass is fractionally too long for the midfield enforcer.

Pique clears the ball as Higuain lurked and Real looked to counter again. This would seem to be Real's ploy for the evening and with the speed of Ronaldo in their armoury there will be danger each time they break.

Iniesta attacks down the left and his cross evades the attentions of Sergio Ramos but heads all the way over to the other side of the pitch where Alves tries in vain to keep it in play.

Ronaldo rerturns the favour with a backheel to Kaka but Valdes again is equal to the danger as he charges from his goal to tackle the Brazilian.

Kaka flies towards the Barcelona goal, comes inside Pique and then finds Ronaldo with a great pass but his effort is saved well by Valdes. From the corner, Barca are able to clear their ranks but Ronaldo has just missed the game's best chance.

Ramos gets back well to put in a tackle on Abidal but Barca have the corner. Ramos, again, clears the danger as he rises up to head the ball out for a throw-in.

Keita steals the ball back from Higuain with a fine tackle.

Alonso finds ex-Liverpool team-mate Arbeloa on the left but Barca crowd him out to win the ball back quickly.

Xavi again sends a high ball over the Real defence this time towards Messi who is a good few yards offside.

Iniesta spots a run from Xavi and sends a delightful lifted ball in his direction. Casillas sees it too and is quickly out of his goal to claim the ball.

It's not a classic from the ex-Manchester United man whose effort strikes the wall.

Ronaldo turns and heads menancingly towards goal before Busquets hacks him down. He is lucky to miss out on a yellow card but Ronaldo may punish him from the free-kick.

Xavi tries his luck from distance but it's a good two feet over the Real crossbar.

Messi's low centre of gravity allows him to beat his man and switch feet quickly to bring in Henry whose cross fails to find a Barca man. Messi is looking up for it.

Messi takes the ball from Diarra before losing out to Pepe who goes down a bit easy to win the free-kick.

Real look to break and Ronaldo shows his speed to skip past Puyol and then play a clever pass across goal. The shot from Marcelo was poor but the ease with which Ronaldo beat the Barca captain will worry Pep Guardiola.

Real gift Barcelona possession after a careless pass from Sergio Ramos and Barca are hassling and closing down Real quickly so far.

Alves looks accusingly at the pitch after delivering another poor cross but it came from a neat flick from Lionel Messi.

Iniesta lines up on the left hand side of the Barca midfield. He passes to Keita who is firmly dumped by Diarra.

Higuain keeps Raul out of the side which is a reward for his good form. Meanwile Daniel Alves puts in a terrible cross which drifts out for a goal-kick.

Kick-off, or lift-off, gets us underway and the atmosphere inside the stadium sounds electric as you would expect.

The teams line-up and Barca have their pre-match photo taken. Shrill whistles ring our around the Camp Nou, presumably intended to welcome the visitors from Real Madrid as the Barca fans flaunt their colours around the stadium.

The weight of expectation is huge - can this galaxy of stars deliver?

The teams for tonight are: Barcelona:Víctor Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Henry, Messi, Iniesta. Real Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Arbeloa, Lass, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo, Cristiano, Kaká, Higuaín

Barcelona's 2-0 win over Inter Milan the night before was all the more impressive given both Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were unused subs at the Nou Camp but they too have stuttered. The home defeat by Rubin Kazan equalling Real's Copa del Rey thrashing at the hands of Alcorcon in shock factor. Messi starts too and his duel with Ronaldo will be played out once more after the Argentinian came out on top in Rome in the Champions League final.

Both sides have flattered to deceive so far this season. Real have missed Ronaldo who hit the ground running in La Liga by bagging seven goals in his first nine games. He returned for the final twenty minutes against Zurich in midweek and starts tonight.

The opening fixture last season was a closer affair with Iker Casillas inspired, Royston Drenthe profligate and Lionel Messi (despite some cynical targeting from the Real players) applying the coup de grace in a 2-0 Barca win in Juande Ramos's first game in charge of Real.

Another 6-2 scoreline is certainly unlikely. The last team these two met they produced one of the most astonishing top flight games of football ever witnessed with Barca ransacking the Bernabeu to all but secure the title.

It came in the form of an audacious series of Fiorentino Perez-sanctioned signings that almost immediately shifted the media glare from Barca's conquering Champions League heroes to the new breed of los Merengues. Kaka. Ronaldo. Benzema. The most expensive assembly of players in the history of the game will take the field this evening and the world will be able to judge for themselves if Real's approach has brought them closer to Barca.

Camp Nou is the setting for the clash between first and second but there is so much more than mere league standings at stake tonight. Barcelona's unprecedented haul of trophies last season demanded a swift response from Real.

This is the game the world has been waiting for. The intensity of the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid ensures that El Clasico will always draw the attention of diehards and those who hold only the most cursory of interests in La Liga alike. The season's first meeting between these two old foes is probably the most hotly anticipated ever.

Join Joe Duggan for your live commentary of El Clasico with kick-off at 6 PM.