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After five matchdays in the Spanish top-flight, two of the three clubs never to have been relegated from the league, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, are on top, with Bilbao leading Madrid on goal difference. Barcelona, the last of the three, who have never endured the 'drop', have had their worst start to the season in 25 years and sit in a lowly eighth place after five games.
Here is how Real Madrid and Barcelona line-up on the sixth matchday of the season.
Real Madrid
The record 33-time La Liga champions are one of three teams unbeaten in the Spanish top-flight this season, the others being league leaders Athletic Bilbao and their Madrid's matchday 5 visitors Osasuna.
Madrid started their 89th consecutive season in La Liga with a 3-1 win at Celta Vigo which put the capital club top of the Spanish top-flight for the first time in two years. Following a 1-1 draw at home to Real Valladolid and a 2-2 stalemate at Villarreal, Madrid beat Levante 3-2 at home before producing their first clean sheet of the season in a hard-fought 1-0 win at erstwhile league leaders Sevilla.
On matchday 6, Madrid welcome Osasuna to the Santiago Bernabéu. In 74 previous Liga games between the two clubs, Madrid won 45 times and lost 13. It would be the first meeting between Madrid and Osasuna since the 2016-17 season when Madrid triumphed 5-2 at home and won 3-1 away.
Since a 1-1 home draw in 2005-06, Madrid have won 9 consecutive home games against the newly promoted club. Osasuna's last win (3-0) over Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu came in 2003-04.
Luka Modric, Marco Asensio, Marcelo are out of the game against Osasuna owing to injuries while Isco is a doubtful starter.
Barcelona
Like Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, this is Barcelona's 89th consecutive season in the Spanish top-flight.
But the two-time defending champions are grappling with their worst start to a season since 1994-95, after two defeats on the road after just five games have left them a lowly 8th in the league table, despite being the season's joint La Liga top-scorers with 12 goals.
The pressure is well and truly on Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde to make a quick turnaround, as the Catalan club return to the familiar environs of their Camp Nou cauldron where Barcelona have scored 10 goals in just two home games this season.
On matchday 6, Barcelona welcome seventh-placed Villarreal to the Camp Nou. In 38 previous games between the two sides, Barca have emerged on the winning side on 21 occasions and have lost 8 times. Barcelona have won 8 consecutive home games against the Yellow Submarine since a 1-1 draw in the 2009-10 season. Villarreal's third and latest victory (2-1) at the Camp Nou came in the 2007-08 season.
Talismanic captain Lionel Messi, Barcelona and La Liga's all-time top scorer, is expected to make his first Liga start of the season against Villarreal. However Ivan Rakitic, Moussa Wagué, Jordi Alba, and Samuel Umtiti are out due to injuries.
