Deco: 'In El Clasico there are no favourites'

Barcelona go into the game six points behind its fierce rivals at the top of the table, bidding to end Madrid's 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions, but Deco feels the two sides' recent fortunes will not matter come kick-off.

Deco, who spent spent four years at Camp Nou, David Beckham battle for the ball during El Clasico.

Deco believes form counts for little as his old club Barcelona prepare to do battle with Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season on Saturday.

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The ex-Portugal international spent four years at Camp Nou, during which he won two La Liga titles and the Champions League in 2006.

Now retired, Deco is content to sit back and watch from afar the encounters he used to relish, with his former employers under pressure to deliver a result on home soil at the weekend.

Barcelona go into the game six points behind its fierce rivals at the top of the table, bidding to end Madrid's 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions, but Deco feels the two sides' recent fortunes will not matter come kick-off.

"I think it is the greatest football match of all time," he told Omnisport. "That is why the whole world's eyes are on it. For me, it is the best football match in the world."

"In El Clasico there is no favourites, because it depends on how the teams are. In El Clasico, anything can happen. I don't see a favourite, both are great teams."

"The first time we played [El Clasico] in Barcelona [in November 2004], we won 3-0. For us, it was the change of a century, and the end of Real Madrid's domination. We won 3-0 at home and it was a really important victory. Our time in football is past, we enjoyed it, and now we have to enjoy watching other players."