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Barcelona currently has a three-point lead at the top of the table, having won all but one of its 10 matches.

But Madrid is unbeaten in the league this campaign and is on the cusp of history – one game away from matching the longest unbeaten run in the history of LaLiga, recorded by Ernesto Valverde's Barca (43) between 2017 and 2018.

Madrid has won 31 and drawn 11 of the matches in that timeframe, with it's most recent league defeat coming against rival Atletico Madrid on 25 September last year.

Ancelotti, who pointed out that Madrid is the reigning champion in Spain, said his team will not be intimidated by the task ahead.

"Fortunately, at the moment nobody keeps me awake at night," Ancelotti said.

"[Barcelona] are doing very well. But in a match like the Clasico, it's very difficult to pick a favourite beforehand. It depends on the dynamics of the match. It's a matter of how you are able to handle the pressure, to deal with the tempo and how to identify the moments of the match.

"Barca have a very clear idea of how they play the game, they are performing very well. They are a very brave team, and we need to prepare well for the game and try to play our best version."

Barca travels to Madrid on the back of a 4-1 UEFA Champions League win over Bayern Munich, maintaining Flick's outstanding start with 11 wins from 13 matches in all competitions.

Madrid, however, has come under moderate criticism from pundits about starting its games slowly, raising questions about motivation after winning both the LaLiga and UEFA Champions League titles last season.

The latest example was in its UEFA Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund, when it had to fight back from two goals down after a dismal first half, scoring five goals after the break, with Vinicius Junior netting a hat-trick.

Ancelotti is not worried about his players' mindset, though, and believes they will be ready from the start because of the seriousness of this rivalry.

"Usually, in this style of match, you don't have to talk as much beforehand. The idea is to define a very clear, very simple strategy and nothing else," Ancelotti added.

"It's not a type of match where you have to give big speeches. Playing like we did in the second half against Dortmund for 90 minutes is impossible, but that should be our starting point, what we will try to achieve. I think we did a lot of things right.

"We will prepare the game to do the right things with and without the ball. We have to play a complete game to win, and we will try to do that."