Barcelona will look to keep their remarkable winning streak going when they host Malaga at Camp Nou on Saturday.
The Catalan giants have won 11 consecutive matches in all competitions and, with Real Madrid not playing until Sunday, would move top of the table for 24 hours at least should they bring up the dozen this weekend.
Their run of six consecutive league victories is the most that they have managed since October 2013 and has left them just one point behind Los Blancos.
A Champions League tie against Manchester City at the Etihad awaits Luis Enrique's side on Tuesday, but he will be wary of resting too many players against Malaga as he looks to avoid a slip-up in their domestic title chase.
The attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez will all be keen to start, having each netted in the 5-0 thumping of Levante last time out.
Messi picked up a record-equalling 23rd La Liga hat-trick in that game and is in some of the best form of his illustrious career, having netted 14 goals and contributed nine assists in his 11 games so far this calendar year.
The Argentine maestro has also scored in each of his last 10 games at Camp Nou, finding the net 17 times in that period, which is the best run of his career on home soil.
With Neymar also having scored seven in his last six games, Enrique faces the difficult balancing act of keeping his stars fresh for the Champions League without stunting their momentum.
Barca have won all but one of their 18 home matches in all competitions this season, while only three visiting teams have avoided defeat at Camp Nou in La Liga over the past 12 months.
Andres Iniesta could return in midfield for the hosts having overcome a bout of flu, while Dani Alves is also expected to be fit enough to start having missed out against Levante.
Rafinha could be drafted into the side, while Jordi Alba and Jeremy Mathieu are among those pushing for starts ahead of the midweek European tie.
For Malaga, that Champions League match is perhaps the only thing preventing this from being the worst possible time to face Barcelona.
The visitors have won just one of their last seven league games - a run that stretches to one in nine in all competitions. That has seen them slip down to seventh in the table, with six points now separating them from the European places.
Javi Gracia's side are looking to avoid falling to three consecutive defeats for the first time since October 2013, yet they are without a win in their last five away games and have lost each of their last 12 visits to Camp Nou.
It has been more than a decade since Malaga beat Barcelona in the league home or away, picking up just two points from a possible 54 in that time.
Their chances have been further hit by suspensions of Nordin Amrabat and Ignacio Camacho due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Roberto Chen and Flavio Ferreira remain sidelined.
Javi Guerra is a doubt for the match but should be fit to lead the line as his side look to improve on their paltry tally of just three goals in their last seven games.
Barcelona:
Form in La Liga: WWWWWW
Form in all competitions: WWWWWW
Possible starting lineup: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Alba; Rafinha, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Malaga:
Form in La Liga: DLDWLL
Form in all competitions: DDLWLL
Possible starting lineup: Kameni; Rosales, Sanchez, Weligton, Boka; Darder, Recio, Samuel, Juanmi, Castillejo; Guerra
Sports Mole says: 3-0
No Data Analysis info
