Real Madrid could conceivably end El Clasico in tenth position LaLiga Santander - Barcelona vs Real Madrid Pressure on Lopetegui will only rise with defeat in Barcelona

It's no secret that the result of El Clasico can often dictate how a Spanish domestic season will go with both clubs often fighting for the title, yet after Sunday's clash Real Madrid could quite conceivably end the day in tenth position.

A poor domestic start under Julen Lopetegui has seen Los Blancos break a club record for minutes without scoring a goal, and the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has been felt sizeably.

Losing to Barcelona simply isn't an option for the former Spain coach, with previous suggestions intimating that his job security is not as high as it once was.

Defeat at the Camp Nou on Sunday would leave the European champions seven points behind their most fierce rivals and it's worth remembering that on matchday 10 last season the Madrid club lost to Girona and were eight points adrift of their Catalan adversaries, a deficit they never came close to narrowing.

Real Madrid head into the match in seventh place, however their own match combined with other fixtures could potentially leave them in tenth, a position that Los Blancos haven't been in at this stage of a campaign since the 2001/02 season.

For such an outcome to occur, Lopetegui's charges would have to taste defeat to the Blaugrana and Levante, Real Sociedad and one of Real Betis or Getafe would need to take all three points from their respective fixtures.