Barcelona: Runaway Spanish leaders Barcelona travel to fourth-place Malaga on Sunday to enter their toughest period of the season with five of their next eight games away from the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi, fresh from collecting his record fourth world player of the year award, will lead Barcelona with his league-best 27 goals. Barcelona are aiming to reach the season's midway point unbeaten after winning 17 games and drawing just once.
Barcelona and Malaga will then meet twice more over the next two weeks in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
"These three games against Malaga will be difficult," said Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Pinto, who handles the Copa games while Victor Valdes plays in the league. "We will have to see how the two teams handle the mental wear and tear, which above anything else will be determined by the results."
Atletico Madrid are 11 points behind Barcelona and hosts Real Zaragoza on Sunday.
Real Madrid - 16 points off Barcelona's pace in third - will try to avoid another slip at last-place Osasuna on Saturday without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo and their defense in tatters.
While Barcelona show no signs of slowing down, their stumbling chasers' last hope of catching the Catalan club resides in the bumpy road the coming weeks offer.
After the game at Malaga, Barcelona have subsequent trips to in-form Real Sociedad, Valencia, Granada and archrivals Real. It will also pursue their Copa defense and start the Champions League knockout rounds against Italian side AC Milan.
Barcelona will face their packed calendar with coach Tito Vilanova and assistant Jordi Roura sharing coaching duties while Vilanova continues chemotherapy and radiotherapy after his recent surgery to remove a tumor from his throat.
Vilanova, who has led Barcelona to a league record start in his first season since taking over from Pep Guardiola, will not be on the touchline for Sunday's game. He has reportedly gone to New York to continue his treatment on a second tumor in two years, according to the Spanish press.
"Just because Tito isn't physically with us doesn't mean that our philosophy will change," Pinto said. "He will be present in his way."
Messi will most certainly be back in Barcelona's starting lineup after sitting out Thursday's 5-0 win over second-tier club Cordoba as they eased into the next round of the Copa del Rey. David Villa and Alexis Sanchez both took the rare opportunity to star by scoring two goals apiece with Messi watching from the bench.
Malaga have won three straight league games at La Rosaleda Stadium, and Manuel Pellegrini's team boasts the league's stingiest defense with only 13 goals conceded through 18 games.
Malaga need the three points to ensure they hold on to fourth place and Spain's last Champions League spot. Real Betis and Levante, who play earlier on Sunday, can both move ahead of Malaga if they falter.
"We can't play defensively. We have to go out to win," said Malaga forward Javier Saviola, who played for Barcelona as a teenager. "It will be a special game for me because (Barcelona) treated me well."
Real will be without Ronaldo and his team-best 16 goals after he earned a one-game suspension for picking up his fifth yellow card last round.
Nor will their defense be in good shape with Sergio Ramos beginning a five-game ban for insulting the referee in the Copa del Rey. Fellow center back Pepe is also out recovering from surgery on his ankle. However, defender Marcelo has made the squad after recovering from an injury that had sidelined him since Oct. 20. Marcelo hasn't played since breaking a bone in his right foot in a training session with the Brazil national team. Real also have fellow defender Fabio Coentrao back from injury.
The debate coach Jose Mourinho has provoked over who should start in Real's goal will have to wait another week. Regular starter Iker Casillas will be back between the posts while Adan Garrido serves a one-game ban after seeing a red card last round.
"Let's be realistic, (defending the league title) will be difficult, but we have to keep fighting," said Real forward Gonzalo Higuain, who recently returned from injury. "We want to recover our form from last season and become the team we once were."
Osasuna could receive a boost from new midfielder Miguel de las Cuevas, the former Atletico Madrid player just arrived on loan from second-division Sporting Gijon.
The round starts on Friday with Rayo Vallecano seeking a fourth straight win at Athletic Bilbao.
Also Saturday, it's: Valencia vs. Sevilla; Valladolid vs. Mallorca; and Espanyol vs. Celta Vigo. Sociedad hosts Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, and Granada visits Getafe on Monday.
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