In just a matter of a few years, the Spanish sky has turned massively devoid of shinning stars but the all-important moon of El Clasico will hopefully still make the footballing night worthwhile to look at. In their first encounter in the post-Lionel Messi era, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will square off at the Camp Nou. 

This summer Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain leaving a gaping hole in the Barcelona unit. The visit by Madrid will close a three-game home stretch for Barcelona that coach Ronald Koeman called crucial to getting his team back on the winning path after a poor start to the season left him under intense pressure.

Messi and Antoine Griezmann, who the cash-strapped Barcelona loaned back to Atlético this summer to save his salary, combined for 58 of Barcelona’s 122 goals last season. Without them, the club has been a mere shadow of their former selves.

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Koeman’s side started the week beating Valencia 3-1 in the league. It followed that by beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 on Wednesday that boosted Barcelona’s chances of avoiding elimination from the Champions League’s group stage for the first time in 20 years.

But Koeman was critical of his players for not being more convincing against a timid Dynamo. Defender Gerard Pique scored Barcelona’s only goal in three Champions League matches this season while its attack continues to sputter. 

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Newcomer Memphis Depay leads Barcelona this season with four goals, but no other player has scored more than twice. Compare that to Madrid, which has got 11 goals from Karim Benzema and seven more from Vinícius Júnior.

“I can understand why our fans are upset because I am upset also,” Koeman said, Associated Press reported. “We have to be more efficient in scoring. It is the responsibility of our attacking players.”

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Madrid returns to Barcelona on the heels of a much-needed 5-0 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Madrid’s big win followed two upsets: A shock loss to Moldavian side Sheriff at home and a defeat at Barcelona-based Espanyol in the Liga.

Barcelona enters the round in seventh place but just two points behind Madrid, which is in second place and level on points with Sevilla, Atlético and Osasuna.

With inputs from the Associated Press