Neymar and Suárez shining in Messi’s absence.

With El Clásico a day away, all eyes will be on the Spanish capital for tomorrow’s game. Messi has been cleared to return but the spotlight right now is shining on Neymar and Luis Suárez.

Many believed Barça would be in trouble when Messi went down with an injury back in September. Messi was the man who made things happen for the Blaugrana last season. He either scored, assisted or provided the superb pass that lead to the assist for Barça. His absence was going to be missed as he truly is irreplaceable.

Nevertheless, Barça managed to get by without the amazing player. Neymar took on the role as the man who had to pull the strings on the pitch and impressed as he tried his best to fill the void left by Messi’s absence. Not many can play like Messi but Neymar admirably played the role of goal scorer and playmaker in his own way that helped Barça. His partner in crime, Luis Suárez, also benefited from Neymar’s new role and both have carried the team on their backs which now sees them in first place in the league standings. Both have scored ten goals in Messi’s absence. Moreover, Neymar and Suárez are currently first and second in the Pichichi race as league top scorers with 11 and 9 goals respectively.

Of course, the world will be looking at Messi tomorrow. Yet, the spotlight will be on Neymar and Suárez if Messi starts the match from the bench. Messi’s inclusion for the Madrid trip might be mind tricks by Luis Enrique but then again, Messi is not the type to sit out a match, regardless of the match’s importance. I would prefer Luis Enrique to play it safe and have Messi come in the final half hour of the match against a tired Madrid side and cause havoc. With the lone exception of the Sevilla match, the team has done well with the Brazilian and Uruguay superstars and should be entrusted with our faith against their arch rivals if Messi does not feature. They have earned that truth.

The game tomorrow will not be won or lost if Messi plays or not. It will come down to mistakes. The outcome will be based on which counter attacking side will present the fewer scoring chances to their opponents and not squander their scoring chances. Also, this outcome will not decide the league title. We are still in November and last season showed us that the winner of the first Clásico did not fare too well down the stretch. A setback tomorrow will not be catastrophic towards to league title aspirations. It will only bring justified and unjustified heat from the media and fans but there’s still a lot of football left to be played.

What is certain is that if Barça win and both Neymar and Suárez perform well, then expect their names to surface as potential Ballon d’Or finalists with Messi. Both have had a magnificent 2015 thus far. The second half of the 2014-2015 season saw the duo score big goals in big games down the stretch that saw Barça capture a historic second treble. The first half of 2015-2016 has also seen them perform remarkably, especially during Messi’s absence. The results and performances speak for themselves. Tomorrow will be their final opportunity to shine in the spotlight before sharing it back with Messi. Do they have one last dynamic performance to give?