WASHINGTON – America, here's your chance to finally size up the Democrats itching to take on President Donald Trump in 2020.

After months of campaigning and TV town halls, the party's top contenders – including frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren – congregate in Miami this week to participate in the first round of debates broadcast over consecutive nights from 9-11 p.m. and broadcast on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

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There will be more debates to come before Democrats choose their nominee next summer. But the first one is always a biggie.

Here is a guide for what to watch for if you're just now getting interested in the candidates.

A first: seeing, hearing the candidates interact

The Democratic candidates have been able to take pot shots at each other largely without having to see – or respond to – the immediate, unvarnished reaction from their targets.

This will be the first time they'll all be together, setting up a dynamic that could lead to fireworks.

But the "random draw finds Warren, who has climbed in recent polls, on somewhat of an island the first night while the other front-runners — Biden, Sanders, Harris and Buttigieg — are bunched on night two," commentator Peter Funt writes. "That could give Warren more time in the spotlight, but it also prevents her from standing out in direct comparison to her main rivals."

The first debate takes place Wednesday with 10 randomly chosen candidates who qualified for the stage: Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, and Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan.

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The second, on Thursday, features Biden, Sanders, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, South Bend (Ind.) Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, California Kamala Harris, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, author Marianne Williamson, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Expect Biden to be tested

Leading in most polls since he entered the race in April, former Vice President Joe Biden likely will be the main target at Thursday's debate as rivals try to dent his double-digit lead.

Prone to verbal gaffes in the past, Biden has helped the opposition lately with a couple of stumbles.

Earlier this month, Biden publicly reversed his position on the Hyde Amendment, a long-standing law that blocks federal funding for abortion in most cases after Democratic rivals. The reversal happened a day after facing heavy backlash from his presidential rivals.

Last week, the former vice president touted the "civility" that existed between himself and segregationist senators early in his career in an effort to present himself as a bipartisan consensus-maker. The comments drew a sharp rebuke from some of his fellow White House hopefuls, including Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, both who are African American.

More politics and personality than policy

If you're pining for deep dive on monetary policy or regulatory reform, sorry.

Candidates will be lucky to get more than a few minutes to make their case so look for snappy sound bites and zingy put-downs.

"A 10-person debate stage with five moderators is not the ideal venue to have deep and nuanced policy discussions," said Aaron Kall, director of Debate at the University of Michigan and editor/co-author of "Debating The Donald. "Any substantive discussions will only involve a select few candidates because there is not enough time to hear 10 separate responses to a singular question."

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That could invite more pointed attacks on the frontrunners from longer-shot candidates mostly positioned on the far edges of the stage who are looking to grab attention.

"Like a Jeopardy! contestant, they will need perfect timing to successfully interject themselves during critical portions of the debate which may earn traction and a viral moment that is repeated on television in the days following the debate." Kall said.

Moderates vs. liberals

One key dynamic to watch for is how far-left candidates mix it up with more moderate ones.

The candidates generally agree on the issues: confronting climate change, expanding health care, fighting efforts to restrict abortions, lifting wages for low-income Americans, pushing back on the Trump administration's border tightening.

But there are differences between more moderate candidates, like Biden, Bennet and Ryan, and staunch progressives, such as Sanders, Harris and Warren, on how far to go in some areas, notably health care where liberals embrace a Medicare-for-all approach and moderates prefer a revamped version of Obamacare.

And there's another dividing line: whether to impeach Trump.

Several candidates, including Booker, O'Rourke, Warren and Harris, believe the president has committed impeachable offenses based on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and that Congress needs to act. Others like Biden, Buttigieg, Gabbard and Yang urge a more cautious approach unless Republicans were on board.

A recent poll shows most Democrats now favor beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump so lower-tier candidates trying to score points might be willing to push the issue more aggressively.

Trump expected to follow along

It's unclear how many people will watch the debates, but one pivotal figure has indicated he'll be following along with commentary.

The president has said he's thinking about live tweeting the debates, allowing him to immediately taunt or tease any candidate who takes him on.

Such trolling would be unheard of by past presidents but Trump has never shied away from using social media to mock and pigeonhole his opponents.

He's already tried to get under the skin of several leading candidates by insulting them with fake Twitter handles: 'Sleepy Joe Biden,' 'Crazy Bernie Sanders,' and 'Pocahontas' for Warren.