Real Madrid great Raul ranks Clasico rivals Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski alongside Erling Haaland as the best strikers in world football.
And with the campaign's first meeting between Madrid and Barcelona coming on Sunday, Raul hopes Benzema will outdo Lewandowski at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Madrid and Barca are level on 22 points in LaLiga after eight matches, with an enthralling title race seemingly in store after Los Blancos triumphed by 13 points last term.
The arrival of Lewandowski has been key to Barca's re-emergence, with the Poland international scoring nine times in his first eight outings in LaLiga.
Lewandowski's ominous start to life in Spain suggests he is likely to surpass Benzema's league-high tally of 27 league goals from last season.
Raul is full of admiration for both players, ranking them alongside Haaland – the leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues with 20 goals already to his name for Manchester City – but naturally Madrid talisman Benzema will get the 45-year-old's backing.
"They are possibly the best strikers, with Haaland. They are the ones who have the most scoring ability and contribute the most to their teams," said Raul, who is now head coach of Real Madrid Castilla.
"Lewandowski is a great signing for LaLiga, he is showing his quality. But I hope that the battle of scorers on Sunday will be won by Benzema.
"I see it as a very exciting game, as always. They both arrive with the same points. It's too early [to judge], because it's in October. Whoever wins will be able to come out stronger mentally.
"It will be a very demanding game and Madrid, playing at home and being with their people, have a bit of favouritism."
Benzema overtook Raul to go second in Madrid's all-time scoring charts in August, though his tally of 327 goals remains some way short of Cristiano Ronaldo's record haul (450).
Meanwhile, Raul's 15 goals in meetings between Madrid and Barcelona has only been bettered by three players – Lionel Messi (26), Alfredo Di Stefano and Ronaldo (both 18).
With Raul cutting his coaching teeth in Madrid's youth system, his ambition is to take charge of the senior side in a future Clasico.
He added: "I would like to, but now I am very happy where I am, working with my boys.
"I am happy and I am going to enjoy it as a fan, wanting us to achieve those three points that will not define anything, but will give more confidence and morale to the winner."
Both teams have Champions League fixtures to focus on before Sunday's meeting, with Madrid facing Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday before Xavi's men host Inter the following day.
Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak
Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.
Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.
That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.
"It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.
"We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better.
"From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."
Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.
Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.
"The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said.
"The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of.
The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.
Montreal - Joel Waterman
Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.
They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.
Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.
Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto - 39.6%
Draw - 28.5%
Montreal - 31.9%
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
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