Spotlight on cluster of shooting stars

Saturday's meeting between Barcelona and Real Madrid pits the two most expensive strike forces in history against one another.

Barca holds a 10-point advantage over Madrid in the La Liga title race, but the battle to be the league's top scorer - between Barca's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar and Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale - is a lot tighter.

Here' is a look at the numbers behind the six men hoping to land Spain's Pichichi prize as La Liga's top marksman.

Cristiano Ronaldo (28 goals): Much criticized for not reaching his usual heights this season, Ronaldo is still La Liga's top scorer thanks in large part to having played every minute of the league season so far.

Ronaldo hasn't scored in four games against opponents in La Liga's top four, but has looked close to his best in recent weeks with seven goals in his last five games and is tied with Raul as the third highest scorer in Clasico history, with 15 against Barca.

Luis Suarez (26 goals): Finally free from suspension and controversy to play a full season, Suarez has become Barca's top scorer this season with 43 goals in 43 games in all competitions - including 26 in La Liga.

Such is the ease with which Barca has been winning, suspicions in Madrid have arisen that Messi's decision to pass a penalty into Suarez's path against Celta Vigo in February and allow him to take spot-kicks against Sporting Gijon and Rayo Vallecano were with the intention of aiding his challenge to Ronaldo to top the scoring charts.

Yet, the penalty spot is the one place from which the Uruguayan hasn't been deadly as his efforts against Sporting and Rayo were both saved.

Lionel Messi (22 goals): Despite missing two-months of the season due to knee ligament damage and playing a greater role as creator since Suarez's arrival last season, a surge of 24 goals since the turn of the year (16 in La Liga) has put Messi in the hunt for a fourth Pichichi.

The five-time World Player of the Year is also tantalizingly close to another significant milestone as he needs just one more to reach 500 career goals after registering his 50th for Argentina in a win over Bolivia last week.

Neymar (21 goals): After a brief mid-season dip the Brazilian has rounded back into form with four goals in three games before the recent international break.

His best run came in Messi's absence earlier in the campaign, with nine in six La Liga games in October and November, culminating in a sensational performance as Barca inflicted a humiliating 4-0 thrashing on Madrid.

Karim Benzema (20 goals): The Frenchman has the best minutes-per-goal ratio in La Liga, scoring every 78 minutes he's on the pitch.

Staying there has been Benzema's trouble in a season disrupted by injury and off-field scandals, but he is already just one off his best ever tally in a Liga campaign.

Gareth Bale (15 goals): Injuries have also ravaged Bale's season, but the Welshman's impressive strike rate of 15 in just 16 league starts also has him on course for his best scoring season since arriving in Spain three years ago.

Bale has just one El Clasico goal to his name, but it was his most spectacular one in a Madrid shirt as he ran half the length of the field before slotting home to win the Copa del Rey final in 2014.

(China Daily 04/02/2016 page12)