Huge news out of Barcelona's last training session ahead of the trip to the Andalucía for a key La Liga match against Málaga: superstar forward Neymar Jr. did not practice with the squad, and has been ruled out of this Saturday's game.

The Brazilian arrived at the training center of Friday complaining of muscle pain in his left leg. Further tests conducted by the medical services showed no actual hamstring injury. However, the doctors advised the player and coach Luis Enrique not to travel and be rested for this weekend's fixture.

Interestingly enough, Neymar is going through the same exact problem as Lionel Messi, who missed last Wednesday's Spanish Cup match at Athletic Bilbao with a hamstring issue. Now, it's his teammate who needs a day off.

However, if you do some research... maybe Neymar is not that injured. He is now one yellow card away from an automatic suspension in the Spanish League. If he were to get the fifth booking against Málaga, he would certainly be out of the giant La Liga game against Atlético Madrid next Saturday.

Coincidentally missing the Málaga match with an injury while not risking a yellow card, everything goes to plan for Neymar and coach Luis Enrique.

So what are you going with, Barça fans: injury rest or yellow card rest?

The rumor mill never stops in Barcelona, especially when it comes to a hungry press praying every day for Neymar Jr. to be sold so their eternal saga of linking the player to every club can finally become reality.

But sometimes, things get a little too crazy. How crazy? Neymar going to Real Madrid crazy:

Real Madrid will pay Neymar's €190 million release clause if their appeal to FIFA goes through, according to MARCA. The Brazilian has yet to sign a contract extension with Barcelona and he is asking for a big contract if the latest reports are accurate. Madrid would be willing to meet those demands and knowing that Barcelona will never sell the player, Florentino Pérez wants to pay the clause and sign him anyway.

Source: Managing Madrid

We all know Florentino Pérez does have the money to complete the deal, with recent humongous deals like Kaká, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale (just to name three) coming to mind, and that 190 million euros would be a very good entrance into the Catalan giants' bank account in these tough financial days for the Blaugrana.

But come on, Neymar to Madrid? That'd certainly be a gigantic surprise. I'm sure Neymar's dad wouldn't be shocked, though.

As is fast becoming an annual tradition, Catalan newspaper Diario Sport leaked the designs for what will likely become next season’s FC Barcelona kits last night, with Renato bringing you the update this afternoon. While every "scoop" Sport claim to have on the latest transfer rumours is usually garbage and not worth your attention, they have carved out a niche as one of the few outlets to actually have a reliable source within Nike, whereby they can release designs for jerseys well ahead of their official announcement.

Now, if we’re being cynical it’s probably all engineered by Nike themselves to gauge the market; how will fans respond to the new designs now that they’ve been plastered over the front page? And more importantly, what will this mean for our future sales?

It’s safe to say that the design for the current season’s jerseys was met with a mixed reaction. Some praised Nike’s bold decision to feature a hooped pattern for the first time on a Blaugrana jersey. Almost everyone else found the whole idea abhorrent and an affront to the 100+ year history of the club.

As a consequence, it has been rumoured that sales of the 2015/16 FC Barcelona shirt have been down in comparison to recent years, at least with respect to the new hooped home shirt. Reaction to the Senyera inspired away jersey and the midnight blue third jersey has been far more favourable, and I myself have been drawn into purchasing the third jersey adorned with Andres Iniesta’s name and number.

Anyway, I’m digressing; last year Sport leaked the designs for these jerseys and were spot on, so let’s take a closer look at what Nike reportedly have in store for us next season:

HOME JERSEY

Long live the vertical stripes. After taking a one year hiatus, the vertical stripes are set to make a glorious return next year and you know what they say about how absence makes the heart grow fonder.

There’s something about seeing FC Barcelona playing in hoops that will never feel right. As time has progressed this season, we’ve kind of gotten more accustomed to it, but we also get accustomed to the harsh cold of winter – that doesn’t mean we like it. Now with the stripes back the right way up, it feels like we’re closer to getting our identity back. If only we could find a better sponsor…

Whatever, it’s a vintage design and one that raises a brilliant question: where does this rank in the all-time greatest looking Barca jerseys, and which one is your all-time favourite? Let us know in the Google poll:

AWAY JERSEY

Maybe this is just me, but I’m not a huge fan of those bars of colour that are on the shoulders. Then again, it does score points for not having a collar, which sadly detracts from the home design – I’ve owned a few jerseys with collars, and they never work out as well as the pictures because they aren’t made with the right material to serve as a proper collar. Alright, maybe I’m being a little too critical here.

The colour of this one isn’t exactly thrilling, but it is a choice with good connotations – remember the third jersey in 2010/11 when we won our fourth UEFA Champions League title? Just discard any memories you have of the likes of Dmytro Chygrynskiy wearing the shirt and you’ll get along with this design just fine.

THIRD JERSEY

One again, the third jersey is my favourite of the bunch. I am a proud owner of a luminous yellow Xavi jersey from last season’s treble-winning campaign, and I’m hoping that Iniesta’s jersey can bring me similar joy this year. A purple design is bold, and it may not resonate with every Cule out there but it certainly sits well with me.

***

All in all, a solid effort from Nike, surely an improvement on this season, right?

NB: Sources on Twitter claim that the colours are right, but the designs are wrong and subject to change. Only time will tell, but as long as we don't see hoops, all is well with me

A preview of Barcelona's La Liga clash with Malaga at La Rosaleda

FC Barcelona travel to Andalusia tomorrow looking to leapfrog Atletico Madrid by temporarily reclaiming top spot in La Liga with a win over in-form Malaga CF at La Rosaleda. Los Boquerones boast one of the finest home records in the league, and will be quietly confident about their chances of causing an upset against a Barcelona squad that hasn’t typically performed their best on the road.

Well, if you exclude the Clasico humbling of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu of course. Or those two wins we’ve got on the road at San Mames this season. And what about that win at the Vicente Calderon against Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone?

Oh yeah! That’s right – while some media outlets have tried to put a negative spin on Barcelona’s away record ahead of tomorrow’s match with an admittedly dangerous Malaga team who will be capably led by Javi Gracia, the truth is that Luis Enrique’s side have actually been quite good, especially when it really matters. And believe me, tomorrow matters one heck of a lot.

Next weekend, we welcome Aletico Madrid to the Camp Nou, and all things being equal, this will be our first chance to actually usurp them in the standings. Not only that, but it would give us a platform to go on and extend that lead at the top with a win in our game in hand. Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself here but it’s all within touching distance – all we have to do is take it one step at a time, starting with a win at Malaga.

Now, it’s not to going to be easy. We have injuries, suspensions and fixture list congestion to deal with, but you know what, we can do it. Malaga have only conceded five goals at La Rosaleda this season, but we can do it. If this week has proven anything, it’s that Luis Enrique’s greatest achievement is not the treble. His greatest creation is not the "MSN" trident of strikers. Not at all, his greatest achievement and his finest creation is the winning mentality that he has instilled at the Camp Nou.

Never before has a team won as many games across all competitions in a single season as Luis Enrique’s Barcelona. We’re 95 matches into his reign as head coach of the senior squad – guess how many wins?

60?

65?

70?

Luis Enrique has won 75 of his opening 95 matches as Barcelona’s head coach; that’s a 78.9% win percentage for those of you without a calculator handy at home. Pep Guardiola’s win percentage at the Camp Nou was 72.4%. His winning percentage at Bayern Munich in a league where his side routinely coasts to early title wins is 77.9%. I’d be willing to wager that no manager in history can boast such an impressive win percentage at any of the clubs they have coached.

What’s terrifying is that Enrique’s Barcelona can’t stop winning, even when logic dictates that they won’t. At the Bernabeu, we win. Against Diego Simeone, we always win. Even without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at San Mames the end result is the same.

We. Still. Win.

So, as Luis Enrique prepares to take an 18 man squad to Andalusia to win in one of the very few venues that he is yet to taste victory, don’t expect him to dwell on Neymar’s absence, or Gerard Pique’s suspension – because he knows that when push comes to shove, his team usually holds up under pressure. And come 6pm CET tomorrow evening, he’ll probably be celebrating win number 76.

TEAM NEWS

BARCELONA

After picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend, Gerard Pique will sit out tomorrow’s trip to La Rosaleda through suspension. The loss of the Catalan centre-half could have a profound impact on the Blaugrana defense, although it would be melodramatic to say that we aren’t equipped to deal with his absence. His replacements are both internationals; Thomas Vermaelen starts for Belgium, while Marc Bartra might just get more game time for Spain than he does for our club. Both are perfectly serviceable deputies, even with such large shoes to fill.

A mistake in the midweek win over Athletic Bilbao could relegate Dani Alves down to the bench, much to the benefit of Aleix Vidal who has been very dependable, albeit unspectacular since his debut just over two weeks ago. On the opposite flank one should expect to see Sergi Roberto reprise his latest role as a perfectly adequate and inoffensive left-back. The fact that this is an improvement over Adriano Correia and Jeremy Mathieu is a pretty damning indictment of their abilities and form thus far this season.

Further forward, I suspect that the slight discomfort that is burdening Neymar will lead to a more conservative selection from Luis Enrique. Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta are almost certain to feature in midfield, but will have additional support in the form of Arda Turan, who will able to provide some additional steel to proceedings. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will join him in attack, but don’t rule out a switch to the 4-2-3-1, whereby Munir could easily start in place of Iniesta or Rakitic, if appropriate.

MALAGA

Fun fact: Malaga struggle to score goals. I hear what you’re saying, they’re in 12^th place, they can’t be that bad – well, put it this way, they’ve scored fewer goals than last place Levante. They’ve scored less than Rayo Vallecano and Granada CF, both of whom find themselves in the relegation zone. Actually, they’ve scored fewer goals than anyone in the league, with the notable exception of Real Madrid’s hosts for the weekend, Real Betis.

Eight of their 15 goals this season have been scored by one man: Charles, who Luis Enrique will know well from his time at Celta Vigo. No-one else has more than one goal to their name, which naturally means that a lot of pressure will be on the defense tomorrow to step up and make a few plays. Think of this as a prelude to the Broncos vs Patriots AFC title showdown – with Luis Suarez probably playing Gronkowski, and certainly with Enrique playing Belichick.

Minus the whole allegations of cheating though.

For the hosts, Artur Boka will miss out through suspension, while livewire forward Nordin Amrabaat also missed the cut. Nor was there a place for teenage sensation Hachim Mastour, who a few fans may recognise as one of the hottest talents to emerge on the European scene in recent years, at least for his dazzling array of tricks and flicks.

FORM GUIDE

Barcelona: DWWWWW

Malaga: LWWWDL

LAST MEETING

FC Barcelona 1-0 Malaga CF – 29^th August 2015 – La Liga

Isn’t it ironic that Vermaelen should start tomorrow against the same club he registered his best highlight as a Barcelona player? A late goal from the Belgian centre-half was enough to secure all three points for the goal-shy Blaugrana in this one.

LIKELY LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Vidal, Mascherano, Vermaelen, Roberto; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Arda

Malaga (4-4-2): Kameni; Rosales, Albentosa, Weligton, Torres; Castro, Recio, Camacho, Duda; Cop, Charles

MATCH PREDICTION

Another tough, close encounter but I back Messi and Suarez to tip the scales in our favour. A second consecutive 2-1 win.

The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana travel to Andalucía for a difficult, key La Liga match against Málaga. And coach Luis Enrique has already chosen his preferred squad for this Saturday's clash.

The announcement of the squad list brought mixed emotions for Barça fans: first, happiness of seeing Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez set to make their returns to the Blaugrana team. Both missed the Copa del Rey match against Athletic Bilbao in midweek (rest for Messi, suspension for Suárez), and are available and set to start at La Rosaleda. But it's not all flowers for the Blaugranes, with the final piece of the 'MSN' trio, Neymar Jr., missing this weekend's fixture due to muscle discomfort.

Jordi Alba, missing his second game in a row, joins Neymar and Rafinha Alcântara as injury absentees. Douglas and Jordi Masip are not included per coach's decision. Gerard Piqué is out with an automatic one-game suspension for card accumulation. Finally, these are the eighteen men named by Lucho for the game:

Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Claudio Bravo

Defenders: 6. Dani Alves, 14. Javier Mascherano, 15. Marc Bartra, 21. Adriano Correia, 22. Aleix Vidal, 23. Thomas Vermaelen, 24. Jérémy Mathieu

Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 7. Arda Turan, 8. Andrés Iniesta, 20. Sergi Roberto

Forwards: 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 17. Munir El-Haddadi, 19. Sandro Ramírez

Projected Starting Lineup (4-3-3):

Bravo; Alves, Mascherano, Vermaelen, Mathieu; Busquets, Rakitic, Arda; Messi, Suárez, Munir

The match starts at 16:00 CET, and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.

VISCA EL BARÇA!

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Live game thread with confirmed lineups for Barcelona's La Liga clash with Malaga.

La Liga: Jornada 21
La Rosaleda, Malaga, Spain
Kickoff: 23 January 2016, 16:00 CET
Referee: Carlos Clos Gómez

Lineups:

Malaga CF: 1. Carlos Kameni | 23. Miguel Torres, 3. Weligton, 15. Marcos Angeleri, 18. Roberto Rosales | 14. Recio, 6. Ignacio Camacho | 28. Juanpi, 20. Duje Čop, 5. Chory Castro | 9. Charles

Substitutes: 13. Guillermo Ochoa, 2. Raúl Albentosa, 10. Ricardo Horta, 12. Fernando Tissone, 17. Duda, 31. Pablo Fornals, 24. Roque Santa Cruz

Coach: Javi Gracia

*****

Barcelona (4-3-3): 13 Claudio Bravo | 22. Aleix Vidal, 23. Thomas Vermaelen, 14. Javier Mascherano, 21. Adriano Correia | 5. Sergio Busquets, 7. Arda Turan, 8. Andres Iniesta | 10. Lionel Messi, 9. Luis Suarez, 17. Munir El Haddadi

Substitutes: 1. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6. Dani Alves, 24. Jeremy Mathieu, 15. Marc Bartra, 20. Sergi Roberto, 4. Ivan Rakitic, 19 Sandro Ramirez

Coach: Luis Enrique

Munir (0-1): pic.twitter.com/QdCmWh5bMk

— FCBlaugrana (@MisterBlaugrana) January 23, 2016

That was quick. Munir has give Barcelona a 1-0 lead over Malaga in the very first minute of their La Liga clash.

QUE GOLAZO DE D10S!!!!#Messi#LeoMessi#MalagaFCBpic.twitter.com/0TOTcfTZfB

— Miss Da Silva (@NeyMel110) January 23, 2016

Lionel Messi scores amazing goals all the time. It's not often you see him flying through the air and finishing a volley with a scissor kick. What a goal!

Everyone expected a really difficult game, and it's exactly what happened for Barcelona against Málaga. The Blaugranes had to fight a bad team performance and an valiant opponent, but still got a huge 2-1 win on the road, thanks to goals from Munir El-Haddadi and Lionel Messi. Juanpi scored for Málaga. With the win, the Blaugrana are once again at the top of the league table, and escaped one of the toughest games of every season with a key victory.

FIRST HALF

Goal, Barcelona. Within the first minute of action, a beautiful through ball by Messi found Luis Suárez in the box, and league's top goalscorer turned into assistant, setting up Munir for an easy tap-in. With such an early lead, it looked like the predictions of a tough game were all wrong.

They were not. Málaga started to completely dominate the game, pressuring high up the pitch and forcing a totally changed Barça defense into a ridiculous number of miscues. With every mistake by the Blaugrana back four, the Albicelestes would get closer and closer to the goal. It finally happened, thanks to another ball given away by Javier Mascherano, with Juanpi finishing the play for the hosts who got the equalizer.

The uninspired, stunned Blaugranes tried to recover themselves and get a second goal. It almost came with a counter-attack started and nearly finished by Messi, with the Málaga defense blocking the Argentine's shot at the last second.

At halftime, a poor game with a disappointing result and performance for a title-chasing team. The Blaugrana needed changes.

SECOND HALF

The changes came. In the lineup, with Mathieu coming in for Vermaelen, and in the overall level of performance. The visitors were much better, more intense, passing and moving faster, and pinning Málaga in their own box.

After a great possession sequence, Iniesta found an open Adriano at the edge of the box, and the Brazilian crossed a perfect ball to Messi, who finished the play with a sensational volley to give Barça the lead just five minutes into the half.

From then on, Málaga went forward in search of the game-tying score, with Barça controlling the ball as much as possible and trying to capitalize on counter-attacking opportunities.

But the scoreline remained the same, and Barça got the win. A giant win in a really hard game. PHEW.

Málaga: Kameni; Rosales, Angeleri, Weligton (Duda), Torres; Camacho, Recio (Fornals), Juanpi, Castro; Cop (Santa Cruz), Charles

Goal: Juanpi (32')

Barcelona: Bravo; Vidal, Mascherano, Vermaelen (Mathieu), Adriano (Roberto); Busquets, Arda, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Munir (Rakitic)

Goals: Munir (1'), Messi (51')

Recap of the action from Barcelona's unimpressive win against Malaga in the Spanish league.

Barcelona survived a scare in Malaga to secure three points against a very spirited team that came into the game in the midst of a stretch that saw them lose just one of their last five games. But early strikes in both halves, one each from Munir el Haddadi and Lionel Messi, were enough for the Catalans who, somehow, only conceded once - in the first half to a Juanpi shot.

Luis Enrique couldn't count on the expertise of the suspended Gerard Pique and the injured Neymar, they were replaced by Thomas Vermaelen and Munir, respectively. "Newcomers" Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal were again in the starting XI, giving Ivan Rakitić and Dani Alves some rest before another brutal Athletic Bilbao game.

La Rosaleda has become in recent seasons one of the most difficult away games for the Catalans, with Barcelona last winning in Malaga on 25 August 2013, but you wouldn't know it from the way this one started. Barely a minute into the game, Messi played a brilliant through ball to Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan continued to the goal-line, inviting Carlos Kameni out before sending the ball in front where Munir was waiting for the easy tap in. It was Munir's first goal in La Liga since the opening round of last season.

But despite the very promising start, Barcelona would struggle to get anything going. Even holding on to the ball was a difficult task as Malaga's press caused all kinds of problems to the visitors. Those problems were most evident in the Barcelona back-line where the left side of Vermaelen and Adriano Correia was especially inefficient. At times the Belgian was even unable to strike the ball that was sitting right in front of him. In almost cost Barcelona a goal in the 14th minute, as his missed clearance led to a corner kick from which Chory Castro forced Claudio Bravo to make an excellent save, but the ball still managed to hit the post.

Twelve minutes later Vermaelen was in a good position to clear the ball away, but he simply fell to the ground, leaving two Malaga players alone on Bravo. But Javier Mascherano was able to race back and from behind tackle the ball away from Recio who theatrically fell down, but the referee didn't fall for the dive. The mistakes in the backline continued in the 29th minute, this time Bravo passed the ball straight to the Malaga player, but again there was Mascherano to win back possession.

But neither the Argentine nor Barcelona would have the same luck three minutes later. More bad passes between the defenders this time led to Mascherano giving the ball away and with Adriano nowhere in sight the left side of the Catalan defense was left outnumbered. Juanpi received the ball on the edge of the area and fired on goal. Bravo seemed set for the shot, but at the last second Mascherano, as any defender would, tried a last ditch block attempt, deflecting the ball and leaving Bravo wrong-footed and the game tied at one.

That didn't wake up Barcelona one bit who continued to have problems in just about all areas of the game and Malaga continued to be the better team on the pitch. The hosts would have a good chance to take the lead in the 41st minute, but Bravo was able to parry Duje Čop's try.

Despite not creating anything from the opening minute Barcelona would actually have a golden opportunity to end the half in the lead. A turnover in midfield sent Barcelona on a quick counter attack during which Messi nicely played through Munir who saw his strong shot excellently saved by Kameni. The rebound, however, fell right to the feet of Messi who wasted no time in going for the empty net, but Miguel Torres blocked his try and prevented the easy goal. Nacho Camacho would, just before the halftime whistle, make one last attempt toward Barcelona's goal, but his long-range try was easily kept out by the Chilean in Barcelona's goal.

During the break Lucho made one change, leaving Vermaelen in the dressing room and sending Jeremy Mathieu in his place on the pitch. The change coupled with some tactical tweaks quickly resulted in much better movement from the Barcelona players and more calmness when in possession. And quickly Barcelona created two scoring chances. The first came from a free kick, but Messi hit the wall, the second, however, resulted in Barcelona re-taking the lead. Adriano swung a perfect ball to the far post where Messi acrobatically connected with the ball and sent it past the keeper and into the back of the net.

Enrique then quickly made his second substitution of the game, pulling Munir to the bench and replacing him with midfielder Rakitić, in an effort to do an even better job of keeping the ball. Over the next ten minutes neither team managed to really threaten. Barcelona often controlled the ball with ease, but getting close to Kameni's goal proved difficult. Malaga found it much easier to get to Bravo though, and just seconds after cramping forced Enrique to replace Adriano with Sergi Roberto, Bravo had to make another excellent save. Mascherano poorly cleared the ball away and Čop fired off a good shot, but Bravo made an even better save. In the 78th minute, after a positional mistake from Roberto, Roberto Rosales had a good look on goal, but his weak shot was easily handled by Bravo.

Barcelona wouldn't really threaten again until the 88th minute when, after a free kick, Barcelona won a corner kick. Rakitić took it and brilliantly found Messi all alone on the far post. After controlling the ball Messi powered the ball on target, but once again Kameni was there to keep Malaga from conceding.

In the final moments of the game Malaga pushed forward with all players, but apart from a dangerous cross in the 91st minute, that Bravo easily collected, the hosts couldn't manage, resulting in Barcelona earning a rare win in Malaga, sending Barcelona to the top of the Liga table. At least overnight.

Roll Call:

The Argentine defender is arguably Barcelona's most controversial player when it comes to fans opinion over quality.

Did Javier Mascherano have a great game or a so-so game against Malaga? It's hard to say without revealing what your opinion on the player is in general.

The Argentine defender made two superlative interventions as Barcelona's individual errors nearly cost them in the first half. First, recovering after Thomas Vermaelen's slip to make a heroic last man tackle in the box, then making another superb sliding challenge after a Claudio Bravo pass was intercepted near the area.

With about a half hour gone, Barcelona's clean sheet could be credited in large part to the Argentine. Then, Mascherano was forced into a hurried clearance with Malaga pressing him. The ball went right to the opposition, who quickly capitalized. The Argentine running back almost made another last-minute slide tackle to save his team, but instead he only deflected the shot into the net.

It was a block he had to attempt, and in fairness perhaps Bravo wasn't going to save anyway. And Vermaelen hardly gave a good account of himself in that play, either. But the frustrations some sections of the Barcelona support have had with the player bubbled up again.

There was another mistake late on which gave Malaga an opportunity to equalize with Barcelona leading 2-1. Mistakes happen, and he was far from the worst offender today. But some will inevitably ask, has it gone for too long?

At the end of the match, there were two opinions. One, that he held it together for a team that was in trouble; even if he was not perfect, he was weighed down by a dysfunctional defense. The other, that it was typical Mascherano. He'll save you sometimes, but he'll make a mistake sooner or later.

There's no denying Mascherano is a great footballer. In fact, many said he was better than Lionel Messi at the World Cup, and some even went as far as voting him first for the Ballon D'Or. A rough tackling but undersized midfielder, it's hard not to appreciate his effort.

However, he has been a square peg in a round hole playing for Barcelona, where he doesn't have the passing vision to match the likes of Sergio Busquets in midfield. As a defender, he is one of the very shortest in the elite teams.

Still, it must be pointed out he's been one of Barcelona's starting defenders the past two times the team has won the Champions League. The team has spent money and time looking for a different partner to Gerard Pique. For a month Jeremy Mathieu looked the part. Vermaelen has put in some good matches. Marc Bartra always hold promise. But at the end of the day, are any of them better than Mascherano? No, at least not consistently.

The question at the end of the year is if he is still worth his wages. Barcelona seem intent on signing a young, elite defender to finally settle the question of who partners Pique. Aymeric Laporte of Athletic Club and Adrian Marin of Villarreal are just some of the rumored names.

Until then, Barcelona is likely to persist with Mascherano, for better or worse.

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James has not been at his best this season amid injuries and poor form, while there have been questions about his off-field behaviour, most notably after an incident in which he reportedly failed to stop when caught speeding by traffic police.

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Lionel Messi’s goal in the 51st minute turned out to be the game-winner as FC Barcelona shook off a determined Málaga for a 2–1 La Liga victory on Saturday afternoon at La Rosaleda. Munir El Haddadi gave Barça the early-bird lead in the second minute of play but Málaga’s Juanpi levelled things up in minute 32.

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We have now reached the final week of the January transfer window. Most European teams are looking for reinforcements for the second half of the season, and they only have five full days to complete and register their deals.

Barcelona is also on the move for a few transfers, according to widespread reports during this whole month, but no progress has been made so far in terms of actually completing the most rumored deals. If the reports are accurate, Barça officials need to act now if the team is getting any new faces for the rest of this campaign.

The two most mentioned transfer deals linked to Barça involve Celta Vigo's Nolito and Villarreal's Denis Suárez. Here is a look at the status of those two negotiations, as reported by Spanish outlets and as sources told Barça Blaugranes:

Nolito

This is the most expected and anticipated deal of the two, especially for Blaugrana fans. The former Barça B striker has blossomed into a La Liga star since last season, and coach Luis Enrique personally asked the board for his signing. Enrique and the 29-year-old worked together at Barça B and at Celta, have great understanding and the manager feels the Spanish international is the perfect backup to the 'MSN' trio.

Nolito has been a target since the start of 2015, but due to the transfer ban, the player did not want to miss time and chose to continue with his current club. But the Blaugranes kept holding talks with the club trying to work a number of different deals. Celta's contract with Nolito includes a special, €18 million release clause that can only be exercised by Barça, and the somewhat low fee for the Catalan giants' standard made this deal look like a foregone conclusion.

However, as we've come to find out over the last several months, the Blaugrana are in a bit of financial trouble due to the huge spending in order to form the current Treble-winning squad. Because of the club's constitution, a directive board cannot spend plenty of money in consecutive seasons, especially if they don't get player sales in return. With the amount spent on the signings of Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal and only a few cheap transfers away (Pedro, Adama, Deulofeu), using 18 million on Nolito is a no go in this transfer window.

Which is why the club tried to work a loan deal with the Vigo club, adding an €18 million buy option at the end of this season, plus the loan of a young player (Sandro Ramírez). Celta seemed on board first, but the latest reports claim they've backed out of it and instead want the full payment of the release clause.

Sources told us that the deal is stuck at the moment, with the Blaugrana considering a paid loan, similar to the deal Bayern Munich did for Juventus prospect Kingsley Coman. The Catalans would pay a lower fee to loan Nolito until July, and then they'd exercise the buy option, increasing the overall amount of the transfer to about €25 million. With five days to the end of the window, they need to decide what to do fast, or Luis Enrique will be pretty angry with not getting his most desired target.

Denis Suárez

According to sources, this is a much easier situation than Nolito's. Coach Enrique spoke to Denis on the phone about his desire to bring the player back to Barça this January, and the 22-year-old was reportedly on board with the idea. Now it's up to Barça officials to complete the deal: the Catalans have a cheap €3 million buy option to be exercised in any moment over the next two seasons, and if they decide to, Villarreal cannot do anything to stop.

With the return of Rafinha Alcântara now closer and Nolito's deal imminent, there might be a chance this deal doesn't go through because the squad would not be in need of Suárez. Once again, it's up to Barça officials.

***

So that's the situation. The soap opera will be over in five days. Let's hope for a happy ending, whatever it is.

With the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals rapidly approaching, it looks as though Barcelona will have to qualify without three key players.

Coach Luis Enrique had two training sessions with the group on Monday and Tuesday with all available players. However, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Arda Turan missed both days with fever. Yes, fever. They are all sick and now highly doubtful for this Wednesday's match against Athletic Bilbao.

Even Enrique confirmed the players' status:

Luis Enrique: "Arda, Iniesta and Busquets not training? They have fever, we'll see tomorrow how they feel." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) January 26, 2016

If all three are unable to recover from their sickness, Lucho will need to work hard to form a midfield group for Wednesday's game. Barça carry a 2-1 advantage with away goals, and missing key players might not have an influence on the final result of the tie.

But against a team like Bilbao, it is certainly going to be hard.

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"It’s crazy. It’s a derby and because of its importance people have to be more rested. The same goes for the Copa del Rey and I’ll never understand this scheduling of the quarter-final," Futre said, Marca reports. "It’s an important competition, one that everyone wants to win and I fail to understand how each game is played…it’s madness.

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