Barcelona striker Neymar is eagerly awaiting his first opportunity to come up against compatriot Marcelo in El Clasico on Saturday.
This weekend's derby will be the Brazilian's first since making the move from Santos in the off-season and while he and Marcelo fight the same cause for the national team, they will be on opposite ends on this occasion - and Neymar has few doubts about who will come out on top.
"We have a fantastic relationship, he is a good friend, but I told him that Barcelona are going to win," he told AS.
"The Clasico is the most important game for any player and is the match every player wants to play in. It is the game where each player wants to play his best football.
"This will be my first Clasico and I hope to have a great debut, preferably with a victory."
The rivalry between Barcelona and Madrid is one of the biggest in world football, but the 21-year-old is confident he won't be overawed by the occasion.
"I think the anxiety is the same before any match," he asserted.
"I understand that we are talking about a very important Clasico. But I think that butterfly-in-the-stomach feeling is the same before any game.
"There are many derbies in Brazil. The one against Palmeiras was my first so-called Clasico and I played a good game. It was a semi-final and we won and I put in a good performance.
"Then, against Corinthians, in a final which we lost and against Sao Paulo, in a semi-final which we won and I had the joy of scoring three goals."
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