Another chance! Memphis Depay skips round the Rayo defence in the left channel, with his low cross hacked clear by an away defender.

All getting very frantic and nervy...

On we go. Barca are looking to use their numerical advantage to good effect with Isi Palazon still on the touchline.

Play continues to be halted while Palazon is patched up. Seems to be a cut on his ear. He goes off for some further treatment and Rayo are down to 10 players momentarily...

Ouch! Rayo midfielder Isi Palazon gets a boot in the head when Luuk de Jong tries to meet Gavi's cross with an acrobatic overhead kick.

Seems to be blood coming out of Palazon's bonce. Someone bring the sponge.

A shot on target from Barca! Memphis Depay pings a thunderous shot at the Rayo goal, which is so sharp the keeper can only unconvincingly punch clear. The ball squirms over his shoulder and over the bar.

More jeers from the home fans as a Rayo player goes down in a heap. They think he is time wasting....

Sergio Busquets does not have his sat nav turned on tonight. Another pass out wide is too strong and runs out of play. Even Adama Traore - the intended target - can't catch that one...

Here is a chance... Memphis Depay, in his first significant involvement, climbs highest in the Rayo box but flicks a header wide.

Excellent display from Rayo Vallecano. Can they see it out and earn a famous double over Barca?

Chances will come Barca's way, surely.

Ohhhh, one to make the hearts flutter for Barca fans. Rayo continue to press from the front and a bad touch from keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is almost punished.

Good job Barca have plenty of attacking options on the bench. Here are the next two tasked with grabbing a goal... Luuk de Jong and Adama Traore are incoming. Outgoing are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Eric Garcia.

Chance! Barca sub Memphis Depay finds space in the Rayo box, but sees his sharp shot brilliantly blocked by Nikola Maras. The ball hits the Serb's thigh and bounces up to his hand but never a penalty.

More Barca attacking changes on the way...

Gavi may well be very talented but he has a short fuse which may need to be tempered. The teenage Barca midfielder is penalised for nudging Unai Lopez, who needs little invitation to go down.

Gavi marches over and prods his opponent while remonstrating, leading to an angry reaction from the Rayo man and needing the ref to calm things down.

Rayo playmaker Oscar Valentin goes down with a knock and that looks to be his evening over. Yes, it is. He is replaced by Oscar Trejo.

Nothing comes of the Rayo corner and the match falls back into its pattern of Barcelona possession.

Oh dear. This sums up Barca's night so far. Sergio Busquets sprays a ball out wide to the right... where there is no Blaugrana shirt and the ball flies into touch.

Another warning for Barca. Goalscorer Alvaro Garcia stretches his legs again, nipping in behind the home defence and winning a corner.

Double change for Barca.

Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres are hooked. De Jong doesn't look too impressed as he pulls off his shinpads and slowly wanders around the perimeter of the pitch.

On come Memphis Depay and Nico Gonzalez, who are trusted by Xavi to turn this match in the home team's favour.

A flurry of corners come to nothing for Barcelona. And it looks like Xavi is ready to roll the tactical dice...

Another half-chance for Barca and again it falls to Jordi Alba. But it flicks off the midriff of a Rayo player and goes out for a corner.