Real likely to set record straight at Barca
Real will make the 600km trip to the coast in anticipation of a win over a Barcelona team no nearer to shifting the balance of power back their way, despite the money spent and changes wrought by new president Joan Laporta.
Real have not won a league match at the Nou Camp since 1983 but it will be a major surprise if that record still holds tomorrow morning.
While Carlos Queiroz's side were beating Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday to reclaim the league leadership in Spain, Barcelona were playing some of their worst football in years in a 5-1 defeat away to Malaga.
Those results left Barca in 10th place in the table, 10 points behind Real with 14 games played and with little hope of challenging for the title.
Tonight, they will once again be without injured Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho, the only man capable of raising Barcelona's game to anywhere near the level of Real at their best, and the players know a drastic improvement will be needed.
"It's not easy to forget a 5-1 defeat but we must put it behind us," said Dutch midfielder Philip Cocu.
"We're lucky to have the Real Madrid match coming up next because it's so important for all concerned. We've taken just a point
from three games but the squad will be together for this one," he said.
The main focus of the fans' ire will be the presence in the Real side of Luis Figo, the man whose move from Barca in 2000 made him the first of Florentino Perez's Galacticos, paving the way for Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham.
Last time the two sides met at the Nou Camp, the referee had to lead the players from the field as the crowd rained down missiles on Figo as he took the corners, with even a stuffed pig's head making it on to the field amid the mayhem.
Barcelona received a two-match ground ban for the behaviour of the crowd that night, a punishment they have yet to serve.
There has been suggestion this week that Beckham could expect a similar reception when he plays at the Nou Camp for the first time since rejecting a move to Barcelona in favour of Real earlier this year.
Barca fans were disappointed by
that decision but they have no great animosity for the England captain and are unlikely to give him the Figo treatment, although he can expect a lively evening in his first Spanish derby.
"I'm not scared of playing in the Nou Camp far from it," Beckham told radio station Onda Cero in the build-up to the game.
"It's the sort of game we love to play and I know that winning would be something historic for Real Madrid.
"Everyone's asking me about taking the corners but I'm not worried and I
always take the corners and I'll take them there as usual on Saturday," he said.
Beckham pulled out of training with an ankle injury yesterday, but only as a precaution, according to his coach. Carlos Queiroz. Madrid midfielder Guti is also unavailable.
Queiroz will be able to field his first-choice side, including the likes of Luis Figo and Ronaldo, both former Barcelona players, and French midfielder Zinedine Zidane.
"I've been dreaming about this match," said Beckham. "It will be different to anything I have experienced before and if we win it will be historic, not just for me but the whole of the Real squad and our fans."
Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, who missed the Malaga defeat, is ready to return after recovering from a swollen ankle.
Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard punished his side by making them stay together since Thursday in a Barcelona hotel to prepare for the game.
Makeshift centre-half Phillip Cocu believes it has been easier for the team to forget what happened against Malaga by preparing for 'el clasico'.
"It is difficult to forget a game like that, but playing against Madrid makes it easier to turn the page because it is an important game," said Cocu. "You cannot compare this game with any other."
*Sky Sports 1 has live coverage of tonight's game at 8pm.
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