El Clasico: Barcelona vs Real Madrid - 3 things to watch in Copa Del Rey first-leg

Bring out the Voldemort masks and tuck yourself away in the death eater hoods, for we're in for a spate of feisty El Clasicos coming up over the next five weeks, starting with tomorrow as Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first-leg of the Copa Del Rey.

Whilst the last meeting ended in a 5-1 shellacking of the Merengues in the league at the Camp Nou in October, interestingly, this is going to be their first meeting in the King's Cup since the 2014 final, and a first in a two-legged tie since 2013.

However, facts and figures (and even form) are rendered irrelevant when the talk is about "The Classic", and ahead of the 240th meeting between the Spanish leviathans, let's delve into some major issues taking shape:

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#1 Real Madrid must go for the kill

Benzema's back in form

With LaLiga aspirations still dangling by the thread and a fourth consecutive UEFA Champions League title highly unlikely, the Copa Del Rey remains manager Santiago Solari's best hopes of winning a silverware this season with Real Madrid (and also secure his job). However, in Barcelona, he faces his hardest stumbling block along the way.

The horror of a 5-1 humiliation is still very much alive in the memory, so Los Blancos won't set out at the Camp Nou turf with the greatest of confidence. But this is the competition where they really stand a chance to get their mitts on a shimmering silverware and must go for the kill.

They have won each of their last five games - Madrid's best run this season - that also witnessed Girona, famous victors over Atletico Madrid in the last 16, being dispatched 7-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior have been the catalysts behind this upturn in form, with the Frenchman in particular netting six times in the last four games itself.

Not to suggest Real Madrid are going to nick this comfortably owing to their mini-resurgence, but at least the prospects appear far better than they were before their last meeting with the Blaugrana.

#2 Messi faces a race against time

Will he or won't he - that is the question

Barcelona's topsy-turvy campaign in the league continued with a 2-2 draw to Valencia at home, as Lionel Messi struck twice to secure a point. However, his heroics culminated with a strain to his thigh as the Argentine ace limped towards the end of the match.

Now, he's doubtful for El Clasico even though he completed the training today with the rest of the team. The Spanish champions have a laborious schedule to negotiate this month, with two more Clasicos coming up in the final week after daunting trips to Bilbao, Sevilla and also the Champions League first-leg to Lyon.

Messi's intervention in each of those games would be instrumental and playing him tomorrow in the first leg of the clash would be gambling with his fitness. There are still no reports of whether the Barcelona No.10 has successfully recuperated and may feature in the game. But Valverde must lay his head in the water and opt to rest him as it isn't worth risking him.

There's a second leg still to come and even though it's at the Santiago Bernabeu, the tie can go either way because, as aforementioned, this is the El Clasico and it ain't over until the final whistle, no matter which stadium it's blown in.

#3 Sergi Roberto's test of mettle against Vinicius Junior

Vinicius Junior - Real Madrid's unlikely hero tomorrow?

Barcelona's utility man Sergi Roberto is one those few players besides Messi to have consistently turned up for El Clasico in recent times. In fact, he's engineered four goals in the last three games versus Real Madrid, including two in the historic 5-1 drubbing last October.

His buccaneering runs down the right flank adds an extra layer of attack to Barcelona's already fearsome attack, and he's proved to be a thorn in Madrid's face recently. But his form in the current season as a whole has been erratic. His defensive work has not been on par while his penchant to drive forward has often left too much space at the back for opposite teams to exploit. The 4-3 loss to Real Betis perfectly sums up this theory.

Roberto would be up against Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior tomorrow, the Brazilian wonderkid who's on a good run at the moment. In the Copa Del Rey, he's scored twice and assisted a staggering seven times as Vinicius has proved to be his side's secret sauce in this particular competition. And he can pose a stern challenge to Roberto too.

If provided with space and time, the 18-year old can cause serious problems, and Roberto may have to limit his forward forays here.

Vinicius was not in action the last time Real Madrid and Barcelona crossed swords as he didn't even make the cut into the squad. But he's come a long way since then and the Brazilian is now one of the foremost names on his side's teamsheet.

Whilst most of the key battles would circle around the big names in both camps, this one too could prove to be significant to the outcome of the tie.