In case you forgot over the international break, Barcelona are winless in their past four league games. Real Madrid have been even worse -- they haven't scored a goal in four straight games, including their most recent Champions League fixture.
La Liga suddenly looks up for grabs, at least for now, with Sevilla at the top of the table. Here are my fantasy picks for Matchweek 9:
Tier 1 forward
Add: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
He's still producing, despite his team's struggles. Messi scored Barcelona's goal in their 1-1 draw at Valencia last time out, and took six shots, with four of them on target. He was the leading fantasy points scorer for the week -- two players who notched braces still finished behind him. And Messi himself had a brace in Barca's 4-2 Champions League win at Tottenham earlier that week.
Avoid: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
He has scored four goals, but they all came in the first three weeks of the season. Nevermind his team's poor form, Benzema has gone goalless in seven consecutive games, including two Champions League fixtures. And he's taken two or fewer shots in six of those seven games.
Tier 2 forward
Add: Cristhian Stuani (Girona)
He was one of the two players with a brace in Matchweek 8, in a 3-2 loss to Eibar, and Stuani now leads the league with eight goals this season. He doesn't shoot a lot, and he doesn't do much else -- 80 of his 109.0 fantasy points have come via goals. But you can't ignore his form. Stuani now has seven goals in his past five games.
Avoid: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)
He was the other player with a brace in Matchweek 8, in a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad. But they both came via penalty kicks, and they were Oyarzabal's only two shots of the game. They were also his first two goals of the season. And he's only taken 10 shots in eight games.
Tier 1 midfielder
Add: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
He missed Wales' two games during the international break due to injury, but the Spanish sports newspaper MARCA reported on Thursday that Bale is likely to start on Saturday. Bale is second in La Liga in shots with 30, behind only Messi (37), despite missing one game and coming off at halftime of another. Real Madrid surely can't go much longer without scoring, and they'll be playing at home against Levante, who have conceded 14 goals in eight games -- only two teams have conceded more.
Avoid: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
There are too many goal-scoring threats available in this tier to choose a player who isn't one. Modric scored one goal in 26 league games last season, doesn't have one yet this season, and has only taken six shots in eight games.
Tier 2 midfielder
Add: Maxi Gomez (Celta Vigo)
He had an assist in his team's 2-1 loss at Sevilla in Matchweek 8, and scored their goal in a 1-1 draw with Getafe the week before. Gomez has four goals and four assists this season, and is 12th among outfield players with 99.7 fantasy points. And he has a proven track record, with 18 goals in 36 games last season.
Avoid: Ever Banega (Sevilla)
He's one of the better, and most stable, options in this tier because of his passing. Banega was ninth in La Liga in passes completed last season, and is 14th so far this season -- he's the engine of a very good Sevilla team. But going up against Barcelona, at the Camp Nou no less, means Sevilla will probably have much less possession than usual.
Tier 3 midfielder
Add: Markel Susaeta (Athletic Bilbao)
He has a goal and two assists this season, despite only playing in six games, and playing only 45 minutes in one of them. Susaeta has only taken seven shots, but he has 14 chances created -- tied for 12th in the league. And he'll be up against an Eibar team that have conceded 12 goals in eight games, although away from home.
Avoid: Jose Luis Morales (Levante)
He has the highest projected score in this tier, but I'm jumping off the Morales bandwagon, at least for this week. He scored three goals in the first two weeks of the season, but has gone without a goal or assist in six games since. And he'll be playing against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Tier 1 defender
Add: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
He remains the fantasy points leader among defenders, with 121.4 -- 15.2 ahead of Barcelona's Gerard Pique (106.2) in second place. And as long as Ramos remains Real Madrid's primary penalty-kick taker, I'll give him the nod over Pique practically every time.
Avoid: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
His team has the best defensive record in the league, conceding only four goals in eight games. But that's not translating into many fantasy points for Atletico Madrid's defenders. Godin is 83rd in the league among defenders in fantasy points per game.
Tier 2 defender
Add: Marc Bartra (Real Betis)
He's third, behind Ramos and Pique, in fantasy points among defenders with 101.4. Bartra is fourth at his position in passes completed (609), and tied for second in tackles won (15). Real Betis have had 68.0 possession so far this season, second only to Barcelona (71.3), and should have lots of the ball at home against promoted side Real Valladolid.
Avoid: Nacho (Real Valladolid)
He's one of the better options in this tier -- Nacho has a goal, two assists and 84.6 fantasy points, good enough for seventh at his position. But I don't like him this week, for a reason mentioned just above. I expect Real Betis to dominate possession against Real Valladolid, which limits Nacho's attacking potential.
Goalkeeper
Add: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
At first glance, this doesn't look like a great matchup for Oblak -- playing at Villarreal, who finished fifth in La Liga last season. But Villarreal have failed to score in their past two home games, against Real Valladolid and Valencia, and they've only scored six goals in eight games this season. Plus Oblak has posted four league clean sheets in a row.
Avoid: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Not only are Sevilla top of the table, they've scored 18 goals in eight games ... only Barcelona themselves have scored more (19). Also, Barca have already conceded nine goals, and Ter Stegen has gone five games in a row without posting a clean sheet, including the Champions League game against Tottenham.
Captain
Messi has 198.5 fantasy points through the first eight weeks of the season -- 77.1 more than any other player. It's an easy decision.