Real Madrid welcome Espanyol, and a familiar face, to the Bernabeu on Sunday night when Zinedine Zidane's side will attempt to arrest a run of results at home that has left the reigning champions seven points adrift of leaders Barcelona with six games played.
The last time Real got off to such a poor start in La Liga was in 1995-96, when they were again holding the title with a young defender in their ranks who had joined the previous summer and became a fixture on the right of a defence that conceded just 29 times en route to the 1994-95 championship: Quique Sanchez Flores.
The current Espanyol manager's second and final campaign at the Bernabeu coincided with an early season collapse that would see the champions eventually limp into sixth place, 17 points behind league winners Atletico Madrid and out of European contention. After one game Real led the table but home defeats to Athletic and Oviedo, followed by draws against Betis and Barcelona and a 4-3 defeat at Mestalla, left the side managed by Jorge Valdano languishing in 15th. Week seven of Liga action brought a 2-1 home victory over Compostela that sparked a run of three wins and the brief hope that Real may recover sufficiently to launch a title defence.