Good afternoon and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Spanish league tie between Almeria and Barcelona. We'll bring you all the action and goals as they go in. Kick-off: 17:00.

What did you make of the game? Did Almeria miss their chance in the first half? What happens if the injury to Messi is a serious one? Let me know on Twitter (@grahamruthven).

In the end that was a comfortable win for Barcelona but the first half was a real test to their defensive resolution. The game ended as a contest when Vidal and Soriano were withdrawn, but Barca showed a lot of mettle here today.

FULL TIME: Almeria 0-2 Barcelona

Barcelona sub: Andres Iniesta OFF, Jonathan Dos Santos ON.

An additional three minutes of stoppage time to be played.

Tello is slotted through behind the Almeria backline, but after opening up his body for the shot he plants the finish wide of the post.

YELLOW CARD: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona).

This game has opened up in the last ten minutes, with Almeria pressing forward. Can they find a goal to give them hope of a comeback?

Suso floats the ball into the box, trying to find the 'corridor of uncertainty' but Valdes comes off his line well to punch away, taking a pretty hefty blow to the ribs in the process.

Rodrigo wins a freekick in a dangerous position from Busquets. This could provide an opportunity for the home side.

Almeria have the ball in the back of the net, but Rodri is called offside and it looks to be the correct decision. A good three or four yards beyond the defensive line.

Both players can continue and are back on the field after receiving treatment on the sidelines.

Azeez and Busquets clash hard after going into a challenge, with two stretchers now being brought on to the pitch. A 50/50 tackle.

Barcelona sub: Alexis Sanchez OFF, Christian Tello ON.

Almeria sub: Jose A. Garcia Verza OFF, Helder Barbosa ON.

Verza gives the ball away in the centre of the field, but Dani Alves can't find a teammate in the box from the right wing.

Looks like we're about to get a spate of subs. That'll help the flow of the game.....

Scrappy play on the edge of the box leads to Adriano flashing a shot wide of the target afer good play in tight space by Sanchez and Iniesta.

Pedro attempts to thread through Fabregas but the midfielder runs out of pitch and Esteban comes off his line to smother at his feet.

Dubarbier lines up a shot from the edge of the box but Pique gets across in time to make the block.