It will be up to revived Rayo Vallecano to try and stop Barcelona in their tracks and make the La Liga title chase interesting again, with the hosts unbeaten in last seven.

The Catalans produced a great comeback against Sevilla to extend their winning run, but the clash at Estadio de Valleys Teresa Rivero will be anything but a walk in the park.

Mostly thanks to boss Paco Jemez, Rayo Vallecano have been one of La Liga’s most exciting sides outside the top 4, but the team surprisingly experienced plenty of problems at the start of the current campaign.

Nevertheless, the club chiefs decided to stick with the highly rated tactician, and that is proving a very good decision.

Rayo finally ended a ten-match winless run in January as they hammered Celta Vigo, while they have since also defeated Las Palmas.

But, the curious thing is that they have recorded a 2-2 draw in each of their other five games since 17 January, thus creating a two-point advantage over the relegation zone.

Rayo are now unbeaten in last five home fixtures (W2 D3), and they will certainly have something to build on when they face mighty Barcelona.

The hosts have some selection worries at the moment seeing that both Nicolas Fedor and Pablo Hernandez have been ruled out through injury.

Jozabed faces a fitness test, but Patrick Ebert and Razvan Rat could return and Tono and David Cobeno have overcome minor injuries.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Juan Carlos – Quini, Ze Castro, Llorente, Tito – Trashorras, Iterra – Embarba, Piti, Bebe – Manucho.

Everything suggests that Barcelona will lift yet another La Liga trophy this season, with the Catalans five points clear at the top, while also having a game in hand.

Luis Enrique’s men have long ago reached top form and they never looked back, with the Catalans also impressing in other competitions.

They will obviously want to create even greater advantage over their title rivals in La Liga ahead of the decisive battles in the Champions League and Copa del Rey, but the clash against in-form Rayo Vallecano is likely to provide a stern test.

The Catalans have not been too convincing of late, having somewhat struggled against Sporting Gijon, Las Palmas and Sevilla, but they remain 1.20 (1/5) favourites to win in Madrid.

There have been no fresh selection worries to report for coach Luis Enrique, with only Rafinha Alcantara out on the sidelines.

The boss is expected to make some changes to the starting line-up, with Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Ivan Rakitic and Dani Alves all set to be recalled.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Bravo – Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba – Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta – Messi, Suarez, Neymar.