On paper, both teams are jointly on top of the La Liga table and should provide a titanic battle. But when Real Madrid take on Barcelona in the first clasico of the season, the pressure will be on the Catalans.
Xavi's Barca have the gaze of the football world on them after going on a spending spree in the summer - bringing in Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and others - by hedging on future earnings to pay current bills.
Despite crippling debts of over $1 billion, the club attacked the market and beat other sides to sign a host of world-class players after activating a series of financial levers.
Barca sold 10 per cent of their La Liga television rights to an American investment firm for the next 25 years in June, then another 15 percent in July, for a total of €400 million.