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What’s the most wonderful thing about the most wonderful time of the year? The football, obviously.
And it starts this weekend, with a cracking few days of action in store, with a line-up sure to turn you into a beer-guzzling, pizza-devouring couch potato even before we’ve reached St Stephen’s Day.
But the most mouthwatering fixture doesn’t come from the Premier League. No, Real Madrid and Barcelona meet for the first time in La Liga this season, seeing out the first half of the Spanish footballing calendar in style before they take their winter break.
And, as the rivals prepare to do battle at the Santiago Bernabeu in club football’s most illustrious game, we’ve decided to throw together our combined XI (well, we didn’t throw it together as it actually required some thought).
Here goes.
Right, now that you’ve started sharpening your knives, let’s run through the rationale. Ter Stegen has established himself as one of the finest goalkeepers in the world. The 25-year-old German’s consistently excellent performances get him in ahead of Real’s Keylor Navas, a perfectly fine stopper in his own right.
Barcelona haven’t had a consistent right-back this season, with Sergi Roberto, Nelson Semedo and Aleix Vidal all having played there. Carvajal has been solid since returning to action in November after being cleared of a viral infection of the heart.
Pique and Ramos are a couple of El Clasico stalwarts, so arguing against their inclusion is futile.
Left-back was a tough one. While Jordi Alba is an outstanding footballer, Marcelo is technically superior and has been one of the most exciting attacking full-backs for years. It’s never dull when he plays.
Players with most titles in the history of Real Madrid:
23 Gento
21 Sanchis
18 Chendo, Casillas, SERGIO RAMOS and MARCELO pic.twitter.com/KAx5f9QJZ4— RmadridEdition (@RMadridEdition) December 16, 2017
I’ve picked Toni Kroos over Sergio Busquets. While the Barca midfielder is a more natural fit defensively, Kroos’ all-round game is superb. It’s a matter of taste and, weighing it up, we can’t have a player who once called diving ‘smart’ in there.
Modric and Iniesta are two of the most technically exquisite and creative players of their generation. Isco was seriously considered, while Paulinho and Casemiro deserve shout-outs, but leaving these two legends out didn’t seem right.
Messi and Ronaldo pick themselves, obviously, while Suarez gets the nod ahead of Karim Benzema. The Frenchman has always been a clinical and somewhat under-appreciated servant to Madrid, but Suarez has upped his game recently.
Yes, there’s no room for Gareth Bale. The Welshman has missed too much of this season through injury. When he’s fully fit and flying, he’s almost a cert, but it would have been difficult to justify his inclusion here.
Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017:
🏃 59 games
⚽️ 53 goals
🅰 13 assistsLionel Messi in 2017:
🏃 63 games
⚽️ 53 goals
🅰 15 assistsNext up: Real Madrid vs Barcelona. #ElClasico pic.twitter.com/4IaJnuzEqp
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cr7Fran4ever) December 22, 2017
