El Clasico: With Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo out, Who can light up El Clasico?

El Clasico is arguably the most famous football fixture in the world. 

For the past decade, it has been a personal playground for the two football icons. However, neither of the two phenomenal players will feature on Sunday afternoon when Barcelona welcome Real Madrid at the Nou Camp.

After a nine-year stay in Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo departed for Juventus - scored 450 goals and won 15 trophies including four Champions League triumphs.

With the broken arm injury he sustained in last weekend's 4-2 victory against Sevilla, Barca's talisman, Lionel Messi will be absent too, after a result that sent the reigning champions top of the log and gives them the opportunity to move seven points clear of struggling Real on Sunday.

Since December 2007, this will be the first Clasico to not feature neither Messi or Ronaldo, when Real won with a solitary goal from Julio Baptista in a game that featured other blasts from the past such as Deco, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gianluca Zambrotta and Gabriel Heinze. 

Since then, among the galaxy of world-class talent, Ronaldo and Messi have been the brightest of stars in El Clasico. Messi holds the record of all-time leading scorer with 26 goal and 14 assists, while Ronaldo holds the record for the most consecutive goals in Clasicos (six games, all in 2012).

So, how will Real Madrid overcome their post-Ronaldo hangover? How will Barca cope with Messi's sudden injury? How will their absence affect the wider pattern of the game? Let's take a look.

Without Ronaldo, where are Real's goals?

With the summer departures of Ronaldo and equally legendary coach Zinedine Zidane, Real are finding it difficult to come to terms.

In their past four league games, Los Blancos have drawn one and lost three including shock defeats by Alaves and Levante, to leave new manager Julen Lopetegui's position hanging by a thread after they drop down to seventh in the table.

They have only scored once in those four games, which is the root of their problems, and that came from left-back Marcelo in last weekend's 2-1 home defeat by Levante.

Even Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen in the midweek didn't was not convincing. Though, in nearly two months, Karim Benzema got on the scoresheet for the first time but the 2-1 victory sealed by Marcelo’s goal was far from encouraging, especially in the kind of game they would have routinely won when Ronaldo was around.

Selling off a player who scored at least 40 goals in each of the past eight seasons without adequate replacement was bound to carry consequences, especially when Ronaldo's departure was just one of the imminent exodus but significant thinning of the squad, which has left an alarming lack of genuine goalscorers.

	Messi v Real Madrid	Ronaldo v Barcelona
Games	38	30
Won	17	8
Win percentage	44.7%	26%
Goals	26	18
Assists	13	1
Minutes played	3,373	2,537

In 2017 when Real won the league and Champions League double, Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez scored 48 league goals. They have all left, with just inclusion of unproven Mariano Diaz.

Nevertheless, there are abundance of creative talents in the squad and any coach would love to call upon Isco, Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio and Benzema. But none of them are out-and-out scorers, they do most if not all of their best work outside the penalty area, supplying the ammunition rather than firing it.

One statistic to buttress the team's dramatic downturn in front of goals is that, they equalled a world record by scoring in 73 consecutive matches last year, whereas they have already been scoreless four times this season. 

Earlier this week, Isco admitted at the suggestion that Real Madrid are badly missing Cristiano Ronaldo, "We can't cry about a player who didn't want to stay here."

But the facts are they for all to see. Since the 33-year old Ronaldo left for Juventus, Real possess nothing like the same kind of goal threat.

Isco recent drop in form can be excused having just returned following an operation for appendicitis but if his team-mates don’t significantly improve their work rate output, more tears will flow.

Replace Messi? Mission impossible

Ernesto Valverde was confined to a simple answer when asked how he intended to make up for the loss of Messi following the Argentine's injury last weekend, he said: "I don't know."

Barça’s full-back Jordi Alba, who has a fruitful relationship with Messi, was also downbeat. "No player can replace Lionel Messi," he lamented. "Messi is the best player in the world."

Barca do not have to find a replacement for him, at least for short-time because Valverde has plenty of options at his disposal.

The obvious option is Ousmane Dembele, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund in a £135.5m deal following the departure of Neymar before the start of last season.

Who replaces Messi? Stats in La Liga
	Ousmane Dembele	Munir El Haddadi	Rafinha
Games played	26	96	82
Goals	6	21	12
Assists	7	13	13

But Dembele's performance at the club has been maddeningly inconsistent, sometimes, looking likely to race past three opponents or concede possession whenever he receives the ball, thereby provoking Luis Suarez by ending a promising run with over-ambitious shot or a wasteful cross. 

Another preferred option considering Dembele’s shortcomings could be a more advanced role for Sergi Roberto, who was selected the last time Messi missed a Clasico in 2015 for that task. 

Roberto assisted the opener for Suarez in an emphatic 4-0 victory at the Bernabeu. 

Valverde could unleash an unknown quantity in the form of Brazilian winger Malcom, who was signed from Bordeaux for more than £30m in the summer but has barely played so far, with just two short substitute appearances.

Another possibility is Rafinha, the homegrown midfielder, who has started just two matches this season before scoring in Wednesday's victory over Inter Milan, the club he joined on loan last term.

Barça coach could otherwise choose to bolster the centre of midfield by picking Arturo Vidal, who has also started just twice since he left Bayern Munich and got himself into trouble over dissatisfaction with lack of playing time on social media. 

He also has the option of adopting a more conventional 4-4-2 formation to allow partnership of young striker Munir El Haddad with Suarez. 

Hence, Barcelona have plenty of potential answers for their Messi problem… but none of them look convincing.

Marcelo the main beneficiary?

Whoever eventually replaces Messi, the player most directly affected by the absence of Barca captain should Marcelo.

The Brazilian is an incredibly integral part of Real's attacking approach, considering the fact that he has scored two of their past three goals.

However, in previous Clasicos since Messi played at the right wing from his 'false nine' role, Marcelo has often accepted the need to subdue his attacking instincts and give himself a better chance of shackling his adversary.

The former international team-mate of Messi, Pablo Zabaleta, articulated this indirect but important consequence of Messi's presence. 

"The left full-back can't get forward too often because Messi will be standing behind him, to prevent leaving himself exposed," Zabaleta said.

"If you give space to Messi, you’re in trouble and will concede goals. So when you play against Messi, you don't attempt to move forward too much." 

In this Clasico, Marcelo will be relieved from the burden of having to keep tab on Messi and will therefore enjoy the freedom to play his natural game, much to the benefit of Real's attacking play.

With Dembele's pace, Barca could still deny Brazilian's love for pushing high up the pitch, which particularly suited to exploiting the space he leaves behind if Valverde dares to opt for an aggressive approach.

Either way, whichever team that exploits Messi's absence better will significantly boost their chances of winning.