Postpublished at 19 mins

19 mins

Jorge Mere is down injured for Sporting after getting a boot in the head from team-mate Igor Lichnovsky, who was trying to clear the ball out of the penalty area. He is helped off the pitch by a member of staff, who is holding a towel to his head, presumably dealing with some blood.

Luis Suarez plays the ball over the top to Arda Turan, who controls the ball but has a free-kick awarded against him for handball. Not entirely obvious if that was the right decision or not but the Turkey midfielder didn't seem too happy.

Lionel Messi miscontrols a fairly straightforward high pass down near the byeline. Rubbish - he'll struggle to find a Chinese Super League club if he continues like that.

Sporting Gijon have a big chance here. Alen Halilovic, the man on loan from Barca, does brilliantly to break from midfield and he plays it out to Alex Menendez, whose shot - while slipping - goes wide of the far post.

That's the first time they'd had an attack that I can remember.

Image source, AFP

Sporting Gijon keeper Ivan Cuellar rushes out to deny Neymar - it's almost attack v defence already.

It's been pretty much all Barcelona so far and Lionel Messi tries to clip a ball over the top to onrushing full-back Adriano but it's overhit and goes out for a goal kick. It might be a long day for Sporting.

Image source, AFP

First chance of the game but Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic hits the ball on the bounce from 30 yards and it flies wide of the post. Ambitious.

Sporting get us under way.

Sporting Gijon have put out a weakened side today with their manager prioritising this weekend's trip to Real Betis - a more winnable game.

Both sets of players are coming out on the pitch now. Barcelona's 30-game unbeaten run has to come to an end at some stage but can it be tonight, at a club battling relegation?

Stranger things have happened. #Leicester

Image source, Getty Images

This is Barcelona's first game since THAT penalty.

Lionel Messi rolled his penalty to Luis Suarez, who scored to make it 4-1 against Celta Vigo on Sunday. Barca went on to win 6-1 against Luis Enrique's former club.

Read how it happened with pictures here.

And our Spanish football writer Andy West looks through whether it was disrespectful here.

If Barca get a penalty tonight, will someone be man-marking Luis Suarez and Neymar outside the box?

Image source, Rex Features

Croatia attacking midfielder Alen Halilovic faces his parent club tonight as he starts for Sporting Gijon.

"He has got a long road ahead but he is getting the minutes he needs in the First Division," said Barca boss Luis Enrique before the game.

Halilovic, 19, said: "I'm very happy to play against Barca. It will be a nice game and I'm really excited.

"My best friend is at Barca - Ivan Rakitic. I really want to play against him but also against Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. It is the best team in the world."

Image source, Getty Images

And to increase the whole pally feel of this game, Sporting Gijon boss Abelardo has known Luis Enrique since school and they played for Sporting, Barcelona and Spain together.

“We’ve been great friends since we were seven years old. We have a great relationship. But we’ve never met as coaches and we never thought we would," said Enrique.

“It's a 90-minute game and anything can happen,” said Abelardo, who played for Barca as a defender from 1994 to 2002.

“We will try to make things very difficult for them, but Barca is unbeatable at the moment and it's tough to do damage against them.”

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is from Gijon and started his career with Sporting.

"Whenever I go back to El Molinon, it's special,” he said. “But on Wednesday I'm going back as a coach and I want to win.

"Sporting is a very hard-working team that uses their defence to manage their attacks and they’re one of the most intense teams in the league.”  

Image source, Reuters

Barcelona have rested a few players, with Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves on the bench. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar start, however.

An interesting name in Sporting Gijon's team is Alen Halilovic, the highly rated 19-year-old Croatia playmaker on loan from... Barcelona. He starts against the club who own him today.

Sporting Gijon: Cuellar, Lora, Lichnovsky, Mere, Canella; Mascarell, Cases, Menendez, Halilovic, Perez, Castro. Subs: Barrera, Guerrero, Garcia, Lopez, Vranjes, Jony, Ait-Atmane.

Barcelona: Bravo, Vidal, Pique, Mathieu, Adriano, Rakitic, Busquets, Turan, Messi, Neymar, Suarez. Subs: Ter Stegen, Alves, Iniesta, Mascherano, Bartra, Munir, Vermaelen.

When Barcelona went to Japan for the Club World Cup in December, their trip to Gijon had to be rearranged.

And they've managed to squeeze it into their busy treble-chasing schedule tonight. It's a 17:30 GMT kick-off because for TV reasons it needs to be finished before the Champions League games.

With some people in Spain still working at kick-off, 18:30 local time, the clubs are expecting fans to continue to come in throughout the game.

Win tonight in what is basically their game in hand, and Barca will go six points clear of Atletico Madrid and seven above Real.

It's Champions League last 16 night and who better symbolises the tournament over the last decade or so than Barcelona?

Barca are unbeaten in 30 games so which European juggernauts will test that run tonight in the continent's top club competition?

Sporting Gijon? Wait, this is La Liga? What's going on here then.

Image source, Getty Images