Barça's four 'finals' before international break to get season on track

Dwelling on the loss to Real Madrid will serve for nothing. The Clasico is now in the past and FC Barcelona must turn the page, correct their mistakes and focus on what's to come in both LaLiga and the Champions League. Ronald Koeman's side have four huge games before the November international break. They need to win and they need to convince.

In Vallecas on Wednesday, Barça start a period of 11 intense days. They visit Rayo Vallecano at 7pm CET. Rayo have stated the season well after returning to the top flight, although they lost 3-2 to Real Betis at the weekend. Andoni Iraola's side have one more point than Barça but have played one more game. It will not be easy for the Catalans, who often suffer against proactive teams.

Then on Saturday, at 9pm CET, Barça host Alaves. After starting the season with five defeats, Javi Calleja's side have won two of their last four matches, one of them against Atletico Madrid, showing they are no walkover.

Champions League

Before a trip to Celta Vigo, on Nov. 6 at 4.15pm, Barça have a stopover in Kyiv. They will face Dynamo Kyiv who they just beat 1-0 last week in another must-win game on Nov. 2 at 9pm. Anything but a win seriously damages their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League.

You have to go down to ninth in LaLiga to find Barça in the table, while they're in the Europa League spot in their Champions League group at the moment. If they don't win all off -- or at least the majority -- those games, the season could become very long. It's still not the end of October and we're already talking about 'finals.' This is the new normal for Barça who are proving incapable of moving on from saying goodbye to the greatest player in their recent history.