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   This is the question that has dominated Spanish football this week, ahead of Sunday's Barcelona-Real Madrid "Clasico".

 Will Ronaldinho and Guti start the match or will they be kept in reserve for the final minutes?

   They are two of the most talented players in La Liga, but neither are in good shape and both have spent more time on the bench than on the field recently.

 If Lionel Messi - out for a month with a torn thigh muscle - was fit then Barca coach Frank Rijkaard would surely put Ronaldinho on the bench again. As it is, he has to choose between the wayward Brazilian and young Mexican Giovani Dos Santos.

 Giovani generously said on Wednesday that Ronaldinho should start instead of him.

 One Barca forward sure to be on the bench is Thierry Henry, who has been out for a month with a recurrent back injury and is still not 100 per-cent fit.

 Barca are four points behind leaders Real and desperate to make up ground.

 They do have the support of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who kicked off a sweepstake of politicians on Wednesday by predicting a 2-1 home win.

 Real have not lost in the Camp Nou since 2004. Coach Bernd Schuster will probably give the nod to Julio Baptista and leave Guti on the bench for the second half.

 Guti was the captain of the reserve-packed side which drew 1-1 away to third division Alicante on Wednesday, in a disjointed cup match.

 The 17th round of matches kicks off on Saturday with an interesting clash between two troubled teams: Zaragoza and Valencia.

 Failure to beat Valencia could mean the sack for Zaragoza boss Victor Fernandez, whose side lost 1-0 in the cup in Pontevedra on Wednesday.

 Valencia, meanwhile, were winning 2-1 up in Irun, with two goals from Nikola Zigic, his first for "Los Ches".

 Valencia coach Ronald Koeman provoked a storm on Tuesday by announcing that veterans Santiago Canizares and David Albelda would not be picked again.

 The next victims of his "revolution", according to media reports, will be fellow veterans Miguel Angel Angulo and Vicente Rodriguez.

 Also on Saturday, Almeria face Getafe and Sevilla take on Racing Santander.

 The big game on Sunday, in addition to "El Clasico", will be between Atletico Madrid and Espanyol, third and fifth respectively.

 Sunday's other games are as follows: Osasuna-Mallorca, Levante- Deportivo Coruna, Villarreal-Recreativo, Valladolid-Betis and Athletic Bilbao-Murcia.