Barcelona & Real Madrid both lose before Clasico for first time in 17 years
Barcelona and Real Madrid were miles off the pace after the international break as both sides went down to poor 1-0 defeats to Getafe and Cadiz respectively.
For Madrid, who also had captain Sergio Ramos suffer a knee injury, they lost to a well-drilled Cadiz side at home for the very first time in a performance where they deserved to lose.
Barcelona were equally inept, going down to Jaime Mata spot-kick but struggled to create any kind of opening throughout.
On the same matchday in 2018, Barca went down to Leganes while Madrid lost to Sevilla - which was the last time both sides lost on the same day.
But with the Clasico coming next Saturday, 24 October - this represents the first time that both of the Spanish giants lost their preceding fixture since the 2002/03 season.
On the weekend of 13 April, Madrid travelled to Real Sociedad where they were torn apart by Darko Kovacevic and Nihat who romped to a 4-2 victory.
Meanwhile Barcelona led twice at home to Deportivo La Coruna but Roy Makaay came to the fore, scoring twice in another 4-2 win, with both Clasico rivals humbled.
The Clasico that arrived the following week finished 1-1, with Ronaldo and Luis Enrique scoring first-half goals in a tense contest. Madrid would eventually go on to defeat Real Sociedad in a thrilling title race by just two points in the end.
Barcelona v Real Madrid: October 24, Kick-off 1500GMT