Barca face a potentially testing trip to improving Real Zaragoza on Sunday night, 24 hours after Madrid have the chance to provisionally move three points clear at the summit when they host Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu.

Madrid boast a perfect home record in the league this season, whereas Pep Guardiola's reigning champions have failed to win either of their last two away games, losing at Atletico Madrid and drawing against Almeria.

However, in Messi, the Catalan giants have a player currently at the very top of his game.

The Argentinian took his tally to eight in four games and 29 for the season with a brace in last night's 4-0 defeat of Stuttgart, a result that put Barca through to the last eight of the Champions League.

The plaudits poured in for the FIFA World Player of the Year following his performance in that match, with defeated Stuttgart coach Christian Gross purring: "He's the best player in the world, he's fantastic and it's incredible to think he's still only 22. You can rightly compare him with (Diego) Maradona."

Barca defender Dani Alves added of his team-mate: "There are no more adjectives to describe him. He's a fantastic footballer and I hope he carries on like this."

Despite Messi's fine form, Guardiola will not be over-confident heading to a Zaragoza side who could put up a real fight.

Although they are still 17th in the table, Zaragoza have looked a team on the up since revamping their squad with seven new signings in January, losing just once in seven games whilst picking up three wins and three draws.

The most in-form team in La Liga are undoubtedly leaders Madrid, though.

They may have been dumped out of the Champions League last week but Florentino Perez's expensively-assembled squad are flying domestically, winning their last eight games whilst scoring 29 goals and conceding just seven.

On Saturday Manuel Pellegrini's team will attempt to make it 14 home wins out of 14 this season when they host mid-table Sporting.

Also on Saturday, Tenerife will try to boost their own hopes of survival and hammer another nail in Xerez's relegation coffin when the two meet at the Estadio Municipal de Chapin.

Both clubs have struggled since winning promotion last summer, but 18th-placed Tenerife are only three points away from safety, whereas rock-bottom Xerez are 11 points adrift.

There is some good news for Xerez, though, as travel-sick Tenerife are the only team in La Liga yet to win away this season.

The other side in the bottom three, 19th-placed Real Valladolid, are away to Deportivo La Coruna.

Sevilla will want to put their midweek Champions League exit behind them when they travel to Espanyol.

Manolo Jimenez's side are currently fourth in the standings but they are just three points behind third-placed Valencia, who this weekend play host to upwardly-mobile Almeria - Los Che coach Unai Emery's old club.

Almeria have enjoyed a remarkable improvement since Juan Manuel Lillo replaced Hugo Sanchez as coach at Christmas, losing just once in 11 matches and taking 14 from a possible 18 points in their last six matches.

Keeping the pressure on Valencia and Sevilla in the race for the Champions League spots are Real Mallorca, Depor and Athletic Bilbao, who are all within six points of Los Che.

Mallorca, looking for a 12th win in 13 home matches, host Atletico Madrid while Athletic meet Getafe.

In this weekend's other matches, Malaga are at home to Villarreal and Osasuna take on Racing Santander.