The Catalan giants failed to bounce back from their recent El Clasico defeat at the hands of rivals Real Madrid, falling 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo last time out.

That loss was in large down to the match-winning heroics from visiting keeper Sergio Alvarez, who produced a number of saves to thwart Barca's potent attack.

It is not quite a disaster for Luis Enrique's men quite yet, however, with their strong start to the season ensuring that they trail leaders Madrid by just one point despite their loss of form in the league.

They come up against an Almeria side who themselves are struggling to pick up three points at the moment, having lost three games on the bounce to drop within a point of the relegation zone.

The Rojiblancos have kept just one clean sheet in La Liga this season which partly explains their lowly position, while goals at the other end have also been an issue, scoring just eight times this campaign.

To put that into some perspective Barca have found the net on 23 occasions, although summer signing Luis Suarez has yet to get off the mark after finally seeing out his four-month suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

He will have another chance to make his Barcelona breakthrough in Andulusia on Saturday, in a likely 4-3-3 formation alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Messi edged closer to Raul's all-time Champions League goalscoring record with a brace against Ajax in midweek, and he will be keen to continue from where he left off against Alemeria.

Defender Jeremy Mathieu and experienced hand Andres Iniesta are both expected to miss the trip to Juegos Mediterraneos, however, while Claudio Bravo will return in goal.

Recent league form

Almeria: LWDLLL

Barcelona: DWWWLL

Possible starting lineups

Almeria: Ruben, Navarro, Trujillo, Dos Santos, Dubarbier, Verza, Corona, Jonathan, Thomas, Mendez, Thievy

Barcelona: Bravo, Alves, Bartra, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Xavi, Suarez, Messi, Neymar

Sports Mole says: 0-3