Who will step up in Messi and Ronaldo’s absence?

Barcelona: Munir El Haddadi

A Real Madrid fan since birth, Munir El Haddadi was rejected by the club as a youth player and ultimately ended up on the books of rivals Barcelona. In his second senior campaign with the club, he top scored in the Copa Del Rey before being sent out on loan to Valencia and Alaves. After a fairly impressive season with the latter, he returned to Barca where he will look to take his game to the next level.

The 23-year old has struggled to live up to the hype that surrounded him in his early years, though, and finds himself fighting for his place at the club. He is unlikely to start on Sunday, and may not even feature, but if he is given the chance he will undoubtedly look to get one over his native Madrid and give coach Valverde some thinking to do.

Real Madrid: Mariano Diaz

Having previously progressed through the youth ranks at Real Madrid, Mariano Diaz joined Lyon last season where he scored 21 goals across all competitions. His impressive performances in France prompted Madrid to exercise a buy-back clause after just one season and to the surprise of many, he was handed the number 7 jersey vacated by Ronaldo.

The Dominican international repaid the board’s faith by scoring on his second debut but is still waiting for a real opportunity to claim a first team spot. The likes of Bale and Karim Benzema are likely to start ahead of him but he possesses the qualities to be a match-winner if called upon from the bench. Much like with Munir, should an opportunity arise against Barcelona there’s no doubt that Mariano will look to grab it with both hands.