MADRID -- There's always buzzworthy anticipation before an El Clasico match, but Monday's contest at Camp Nou may reach new heights for hype. And for good reason. You've got this generation's two best managers going head to head. The two finest attacking players will be looking to leave their mark on the match. And Real and Barcelona are the strongest teams in Europe on current form.

Here are five things to consider ahead of Monday's El Clasico.

1. Iker Casillas vs. Victor Valdes

There is little debate over who is Spain's first-choice goalkeeper -- Casillas' 116 caps to Valdes' three is pretty conclusive -- but the Barcelona man is a three-time winner of the Zamora trophy for being the season's least-breached stopper, picking up the gong in 2005, 2009 and 2010. That Casillas has won the award only once, in 2008, can be attributed to Real's recently rectified policy of buying attacking players -- the much-derided "Zidanes y Pavones" experiment.

Casillas was on the receiving end of his first four-goal concession for his country against Portugal last week, but made some critical interventions to keep Athletic Bilbao at bay in the opening 20 minutes of the Liga match on Nov. 20. And there is little debate at the Santiago Bernabeu as to the identity of the team's most valuable player.

Valdes, by contrast, might have spent the first half of Barca's match against Almeria on Nov. 20 leaning on his post reading a book. That he reacted smartly to turn a cheeky lob onto his crossbar at the beginning of the second half is testament to his powers of concentration, a requisite skill considering the long periods of repose afforded Valdes by his team's possession play.

Valdes and Casillas are among the world's best keepers; either can make a telling intervention on Monday.

2. Real's counterattack

Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho might not have shared the pitch in Lisbon in the recent friendly international between Portugal and Spain, but they did share a clean sheet against a predominantly Barca-based Spanish attack. It is a curious irony that Barca, staunchly Catalan, provides Spain with its central defensive partnership and Real, the club more representative of "Spain," employs Portugal's center-back pairing.

Jose Mourinho will have noted with a smile how Portugal's electric counterattacking tore through a team containing seven of Barca's starting 11 and which enjoyed 70 percent of possession. Barca patented the patient buildup play dubbed tiki-taka in Spain, but Real is a team that can score in three or four touches. When Barca is in possession, Angel di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil will drop back to apply pressure. When in possession, Real will launch swift attacks with the minimum of fuss.

3. Marcelo vs. Dani Alves

Much like his teammate Valdes, Brazilian right back Dani Alves has not featured as often as he would have liked for his national side through the years, with Inter's Maicon sharing his position. Left back Marcelo, Alves' Brazil teammate, has become a key player for Mourinho and is drawing favorable comparisons to Real's former left back, Roberto Carlos.

Both Marcelo and Alves possess lightning speed and a thunderous shot, and both pose a real attacking threat. And remember that Alves was deployed on the right wing in last season's Bernabeu Clasico to great effect. However, as much as the duel between the Brazilian fliers will have a bearing on the match, the space that opens up behind them when they go on the attack will need to be policed.

4. Tactical formations

Barca's manager Pep Guardiola never strays from his 4-3-3, and Mourinho has molded a brutally effective 4-2-3-1 at Real that becomes a virtual 4-5-1 when the opposition is in possession.

As Inter coach last year, Mourinho employed this tactic to eliminate Barcelona from the Champions League. Whether the warm-up injury to Goran Pandev imposed this system upon Mourinho or it was a cunningly executed ruse is unclear. But Inter's two solid defensive lines gave Messi no room to maneuver and shut down his supply lines from Xavi. After Thiago Motta's dismissal, Mourinho went further and deployed a 4-5-0 formation with Wesley Sneijder occasionally plowing a lonely -- and half-hearted -- furrow alone up top. Mourinho said that his plan was to win that match without the ball, something he will not repeat at Camp Nou on Monday with the attacking onus his employers and supporters demand. A combination of the two -- rock-solid defense and incisive counterattacking -- may be the ticket to victory.

5. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo

Both Messi and Ronaldo are in remarkable goal-scoring form; either can prove the difference for his team in a flash of individual brilliance. Messi has scored seven times in eight games against Real, but never against a team managed by Mourinho. Ronaldo has not yet scored against Barcelona. Few would bet against both players finding the net at least once on Monday.