Frenkie de Jong has become an indisputable part of this Barcelona side since arriving at the Camp Nou in the summer.
He's adapted to the Blaugrana's style of play and is Ernesto Valverde's most-used player this season.
The Dutchman has become Barcelona's midfield motor and has been the driving force behind their promising title defence, but he's not the only player to do that in Spain this campaign.
Fede Valverde, who is a year younger than De Jong at 21, has given Real Madrid the legs to push their arch rivals all the way so far in LaLiga Santander.
On Wednesday, De Jong will play his first Clasico, while Valverde will face Barcelona at the Camp Nou for the first time.
De Jong has endeared himself to the Barcelona coaching staff and fans for his work rate, discipline, defensive help and physicality.
He's the only player in the Barcelona squad to feature in every game this season - 16 in LaLiga Santander and six in the Champions League.
This isn't the first time the midfielder has come up against Real Madrid, though, or even the first time this calendar year, as he faced them twice in the Champions League with Ajax last season.
MN9
439
Barcelona fans : De jong is better Real Madrid fans : Fede Valverde is better... Guys every fans of a team will say the player of their team is more good than the rival's team... We need to accept that.. No need to create a big argument on that... As rivals, we might agree on a few things, but in majority we will disagree more... As a Real Madrid fan , if you tell me to choose one between them, of course I'll choose Valverde but a Barcelona fans will choose De jong , its completely normal
MccarthyMccyanManu
169
valverde can play every role in the middle. he's both attacking and defensive. and most importantly he tackels really hard and wins more interseptions