Barcelona will be looking to make it four La Liga victories in a row when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to struggling Elche on Sunday afternoon.
The Catalan giants have won their last four in the league to move into third position in the table, but Elche have not been victorious since the end of October, which has seen them drop into the relegation zone.
Elche's recent form is concerning, with the promoted club failing to win in Spain's top flight since October 23 - a run of 12 matches without a victory which has left them in 18th position in the table.
Jorge Almiron's side have only actually lost six of their 17 league games this season, though, and the fact that they have two games in hand over the teams around them means that their position is slightly false.
Elche held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at the end of December, but it has not been a successful January for the club, losing to Athletic Bilbao and Getafe before drawing 2-2 with Real Valladolid on Tuesday night.
Los Franjiverdes were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Rayo Vallecano on January 16, while their recent record against Barca is a concern, losing 6-0 and 3-0 in their last two clashes with the Catalan giants.
Ivan Marcone was suspended for Elche's 2-2 drawn with Valladolid on Tuesday night, but the midfielder is available for this weekend's contest and should return to the starting XI.
The home side still have a number of injury problems, though, with Luismi, Dani Calvo, Omenuke Mfulu, Guido Carrillo and Fidel all unavailable for selection against the Catalan giants.
There are not expected to be many surprises in Elche's XI, with Lucas Boye again set to lead the line, but Diego Gonzalez is pushing for a spot in the side, which could see Antonio Barragan switch to a wing-back role.
As for Barca, an appeal against Messi's two-game suspension has been dismissed, meaning that the Argentine, who was sent off against Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup, is banned for this match.
Sergino Dest is also a huge doubt with a thigh problem, while Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto and Ansu Fati remain unavailable for selection this weekend.
Oscar Mingueza is set for another start at right-back, while Messi's absence could open the door for Martin Braithwaite to feature alongside Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele in the final third of the field.
Elche possible starting lineup:
Badia; Verdu, Gonzalez, Josema; Barragan, Marcone, Guti, Mojica; Rigoni, Boye, Josan
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, De Jong; Griezmann, Pedri, Dembele; Braithwaite
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