Barcelona host Real Madrid in El Clasico, with all the action available on Sky Sports HD1/1 and 3D.
Mourinho returns to Camp Nou; Messi and Ronaldo go head-to-head
Barcelona versus Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola against Jose Mourinho, Lionel Messi's duel with Cristiano Ronaldo, and quite possibly a defining moment in this season's Primera Liga campaign all take place in El Clasico on Monday night.
Having only been postponed by an event of the magnitude of the Catalan elections, Camp Nou is set to be at capacity and as atmospheric as ever when the two Spanish rivals meet under the floodlights with more than just pride at stake.
Real Madrid currently lead La Liga by one point, having yet to experience a defeat under summer appointment Mourinho, and so Barcelona will welcome their visitors determined to end the evening with a hugely significant victory.
This El Clasico, which can be seen live on
Sky Sports HD1/1 and, for the first time,
3D, has the feeling of more than a football match. There are sub-plots in every direction that you look.
Dragon's den
The obvious is of course Mourinho's return to the dragon's den of Barcelona, where he once worked as a translator and assistant coach, and it has been reported that rival fans are ready to offer the vilified, yet brilliant, Portuguese with a bombardment to match the infamous reception offered to compatriot Luis Figo in 2002.
Mourinho, who on Tuesday will receive a verdict on charges of the deliberate dismissals of Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos in last week's UEFA Champions League victory at Ajax, irked Barcelona fans with his touchline celebrations when in charge of Chelsea in 2006 and last season when dancing on the pitch after Inter Milan's aggregate success in the European Cup semi-finals.
Barca fans love to hate Mourinho, he is a managerial Galactico, but elsewhere there is the engrossing contest between Barcelona's Messi and Real's Ronaldo, who have scored 13 and 14 league goals, respectively, while the battle between playmakers Andres Iniesta and Mesut Ozil will also be one to watch.
Guardiola, who has been keen to point to the fact that there is still a long way to go in the season and has yet to sample defeat in four El Clasico matches, and his team will be at full strength.
Messi, David Villa, Pedro and Iniesta have been on song and will be the key to Barcelona's hopes of victory.
A 3-0 win at Panathinaikos in the Champions League on Wednesday was achieved with the help of Messi's 150th goal for his club.
Full strength
Mourinho has Gonzalo Higuain and Sami Khedira fit and he has rejected suggestions that he would alter his tactics and drop Ozil in order to select a third defensive midfielder.
Argentina striker Higuain and Germany midfielder Khedira picked up minor injuries in last weekend's win over Athletic Bilbao and sat out Tuesday's Champions League victory at Ajax.
Real's attacking quartet of Ronaldo, Higuain, Ozil and Angel Di Maria have also been on devastating form to counter the potency of Messi, David Villa, Pedro and Iniesta.
