Good evening all and thanks for joining us as we bring you live La Liga coverage of Las Palmas against Barcelona at the Estadio Gran Canaria. Barcelona have the chance to go seven points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid tonight before meeting the Madrid club on Sunday. As for Las Palmas, Paco Jemez's side are in desperate need of points as they aim to mount a push to survive relegation.

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; S. Roberto, Umtiti, Vermaelen, Digne; Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta, Vidal; Suarez, Messi

BARCELONA SUBSTITUTES: Cillessen, Pique, Rakitic, Dembele, Coutinho, Alcacer, Gomes

LAS PALMAS STARTING XI: Chicizola; Aguirregaray, Navarro, Galvez, Castellano; Etebo, Gomez; Halilovic, Tana, Samperio; Calleri

LAS PALMAS SUBSTITUTES: Aquilani, Castellano, Esposito, Garcia, Raul, Michel, Toledo

So for Barcelona fans, Ernesto Valverde has named a rather strong starting XI as they aim to go seven points clear tonight. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez start in attack, while Aleix Vidal and Andres Iniesta occupy the flanks. Busquets and Paulinho will be marshalling the centre of midfield.

Gerard Pique is given a slight rest on the bench, meaning that Samuel Umtiti will be partnered by Thomas Vermaelen in the heart of defence. Lucas Digne also features at left-back in place of a suspended Jordi Alba.

Barcelona's bench is in good shape too, with both Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele having the potential to impact this clash at some point this evening.

As for the home side, Jonathan Calleri will be leading the line up top alone in Gran Canaria, while former Barcelona man Alen Halilovic will sit alongside both Tana and Jairo Samperio in a three just behind the frontman.

There's a tough ask here for Oghenekaro Etebo and Vicente Gomez as they aim to occupy a deeper position just in front of the home defence. One slight surprise is that European veteran Alberto Aquilani finds himself on the bench.

Going into the massive clash with Atletico at the weekend, tonight also presents a huge opportunity for Barcelona to restore their lead to seven points at the top of the league table. Victory here would give Valverde's men more breathing room should they somehow come unstuck at home to Diego Simeone's charges on Sunday afternoon.

This Barcelona side are doing some very impressive things of late, especially in La Liga. The Catalan club have won 27 of their last 32 matches in the league and are unbeaten all term in the Spanish top flight.

This season itself, Barcelona have picked up 20 victories and five draws without a single defeat in the league. A win or a draw here would bring the Catalan side a step closer to La Liga's all-time undefeated streak of 38 games set by Real Sociedad nearly 40 years ago.

Such has been the club's imperious nature in front of goal, Valverde's men have scored at least two goals in 28 of their last 32 games.

The club have found themselves in solid form on the road too. Barca are now undefeated in their last 16 away games in La Liga, securing 13 wins and three draws along the way, inclusive of nine clean sheets.

The last time Barcelona had a longer unbeaten streak away from home in the league ended in January 2013 after a run of 18 top-flight games.

Central to their success this term has been Lionel Messi. The playmaker's two goals in Barca's recent 6–1 win against Girona last weekend set a new record, as he became the only player in La Liga history to score against 36 different top-flight teams.

The Argentine has been outstanding this campaign and now has 22 league goals and 12 assists in La Liga. Luis Suarez has been a key influencer too, he has 20 for the season and is only second best in La Liga behind his fellow strike partner Messi.

One thing Messi will want to build on here is that he has never scored an away goal at Las Palmas, making them the only side that the Argentine has faced at least twice away from home without registering a goal.

There have been a few minor blips of late following two surprise draws, but the Catalans will come into this full of confidence having won 10 out of 13 away games in the league. Valverde's men have also conceded just six goals during that time on the road.

As for Las Palmas, the club are now entering into a crucial period in the season as they aim to mount a late push for relegation survival. Jemez's charges sit in the bottom three at the moment, but find themselves just a single point behind 17th-placed 17th-placed Levante who have 20 points. The next closest club is 16th-placed Alaves who have a healthier 28 in the bag.

The club's last win game four games ago at home to Malaga, while they also earned an unlikely 2-1 over Valencia in January to improve their stuttering fortunes. Las Palmas have also kept three clean sheets in their last four league games and are showing slight signs of improvement.

The major damage to their season, however, was done during October and November last year, when the club failed to win a single league game. That period also coincided with an eight-match losing streak in the league that started at the end of September and ran through until the end of November.

Las Palmas have suffered at both ends of the pitch this term. The club have shipped 52 goals in the league, which is the second-highest and only just behind 19th-placed Deportivo La Coruna's woeful defensive record.

Going forward has been an issue too. Las Palmas have scored just 18 goals all term, which is the second lowest in the league beaten only by bottom-placed Malaga. As a result, the club has the worst goal difference in the standings and means that should they want to avoid relegation they will only be able to rely on a stronger points tally than whoever sits in 18th come the end of the campaign. Goal difference will be a huge hinderance for the club.

The sides last met earlier in the league when Barcelona ran out 3-0 victors at the Camp Nou. Barcelona have scored at least three goals in their last three matches against Las Palmas in all competitions.

The last time Las Palmas picked up a point against Barca was during a 2-2 draw in 2002. Since then Barcelona have won every game, scoring 17 and conceding just three goals.

Statistics also show that we should be guaranteed goals in this fixture. Las Palmas have seen over 2.5 goals in their last five matches against Barcelona...

PREDICTION! Right, not long to go now until kickoff and it's time to make a prediction. Las Palmas have managed to improve defensively of late, but that will unlikely be enough to stop this rampant Barcelona side, who have also opted to lead with both Suarez and Messi up top. The pair's inclusion despite a huge game against Atletico looming at the weekend shows just how important Valverde sees this game. I'm backing the visitors to earn a solid 2-0 win on the road here.

Valverde has made clear that he expects a tough contest tonight with Las Palmas providing an energetic challenge for his men:

"Las Palmas will pressure high up the field and will play it out from the back. That will have a physical cost for us. They are a team who have improved at the back in recent matches."

As for the hosts, Jemez has spoken at length about how his side will need to believe in themselves and not approach this game as a foregone conclusion. Here's what he recently told Barca:

"If I had the formula to beat Barcelona, I would not be a coach, I would be selling it to the other teams," he told the press conference prior the game. I don't have it and no one does, but I'm going to pick a team with which I think that have a chance to compete against Barcelona.

"Our fans don't understand budgets, the only thing they want to see is their team competing against Barcelona in the best possible way.

"It is a good chance to show that we have more ability than what we had shown against Leganes. The players are not stupid, they know what they do on the pitch and our obligation is to demand more than what they did in Leganes."

Here's a quick peek inside the away dressing room ahead of tonight's clash:

👕👟 #LasPalmasBarça 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/bzJTVUzpRb — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) 1 March 2018

We're just a few minutes away from kickoff now. Here's a quick recap of the starting XIs at the Estadio Gran Canaria...

LAS PALMAS STARTING XI: Chichizola; Aguirregaray, Navarro, Galvez, Castellano; Etebo, Gomez; Halilovic, Tana, Samperio; Calleri

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; S. Roberto, Umtiti, Vermaelen, Digne; Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta, Vidal; Suarez, Messi

The players are just going through their handshakes and then we'll be underway on the isle of Gran Canaria. We'll be having a minute's silence and a pre-game commemoration following the recent death of Barca legend Quini.

KICKOFF! And we are underway in La Liga, Barcelona get us moving in their garish turquoise strip...

A solid start for the visitors as you might expect. Barcelona aim to break down the left through Messi, but the pass is overhit and Las Palmas are able to clear without trouble.

Aguirregaray shows some impressive steel early on to get the beating of Digne over on the right, but the linesman raises his flag for a suppose foul on the full-back. The hosts have started with decent energy.

YELLOW CARD! Aguirregaray goes into the book for another challenge, this time on Iniesta. The referee has now set the standard with a booking so early on.

Messi comes alive for the first time as he drives towards goal before shifting it wide to Vidal. The winger aims to pop a ball around the corner on the return, although Galvez makes a strong interception to deny the Argentine a shot at goal.

SAVE! Barcelona should be ahead... Messi robs Navarro inside his own half and gallops forward towards goal. He has just the keeper to beat and Suarez over in space, but his pass is a little under hit and Suarez cannot quite get enough on it to beat Chichizola, who rushes off his line to make a superb save.

YELLOW CARD! Messi is starting to cause some serious problems. Castellano recognises the danger and opts to take on the yellow card by bringing down the playmaker just shy of the box.

SAVE! Messi sends a curling shot over the wall from the free kick, which requires Chichizola to leap across and make a deft diving save to tip the ball around the post.

Las Palmas are able to win themselves a corner down at the other end, where possession is shifted short to Halilovic, who thumps a teasing ball across the face of goal and wide with nobody being able to get the vital touch on it.

It's been a busy opening period here with both sides keen to impose themselves on proceedings. Las Palmas are just starting to show a bit of confidence going forward, but Barca do not seem too concerned at the moment.

Calleri gets involved for the first time here as he holds the ball up brilliantly to set Halilovic on his way, but Barca soon pull enough numbers back to thwart the winger down the right.

The hosts are making Barca defend now! Las Palmas enjoy some space down the right and Vermaelen has to gather himself to make a vital header in the box to clear the danger, with Calleri lurking just behind him.

YELLOW CARD! A third yellow already as Messi is fouled right on the edge of the box by Navarro, who goes into the book after the referee allowed an advantage that came to nothing for the visitors.

Standard fare for Messi, this... The Argentine stands over the free kick right on the edge of the box, before bending a wonderful curling finish beyond Chichizola and into the far corner, leaving the keeper with absolutely nothing he can do about itt. A piece of brilliance has opened the scoring and it's of no real surprise as to the man behind it.

Las Palmas haven't given up the fight, though, as they break forward before Paulinoh breaks up the play with a clever foul on the edge of the Barca box. Halilovic stands over it, but he cannot quite mimic Messi with an effort that rises over ter Stegen's bar.

Iniesta almost unpicks the home defence with a wonderful ball in behind for Paulinho, but Las Palmas hook clear for the corner. The eventual ball into the middle is met by Umtiti, whose header is saved comfortably by Chichizola.

We haven't seen Barca at their fluent best as the hosts have approached this contest with plenty of grit and industry. Messi's brilliance separates the sides, although Las Palmas are not approaching this with their heads bowed just yet.

Paulinho has been energetic in the Barca midfield, but he goes in a little too hard on Etebo and is pulled up for a foul on the halfway line.

Almost a moment of true beauty as Messi, Iniesta and Suarez combine, but the ball takes a vital deflection just before the return pass finds the Spanish playmaker, allowing Chichizola to gather the loose ball.

Calleri is starting to cut a frustrated figure up against this Barca defence and is getting very little support from the likes of Tana from deeper. Barca break again and this time the final pass is shifted to Paulinho, who can't find his touch at the crucial moment on the edge of the box.

Barcelona haven't been allowed to play here and we are seeing a slightly different Barca performance, which has seen the visitors quite happy to surrender the ball and look for the break in Gran Canaria.

CHANCE! Just a slight sign of promise from Calleri, who beats Roberto in behind and advances towards Ter Stegen. The keeper looks indecisive and eventually opts to stay on his line. With space running out, the frontman goes for a shot from an acute angle and it flies wide of goal.

Roberto has been pinned back for much of this first half and he has to come up with some clever defending to stop the run of Samperio down the left channel. The hosts certainly aren't giving this up...

SHOT! Etebo has very few options inside the Barca half and he decides to have a go from range, but his effort is a poor one and sails wide despite Ter Stegen offering a dive for the cameras.

It says it all that Barca's best play has come on the counter, they just haven't been allowed to develop any rhythm to their passing here.

SHOT! Another breakaway from the visitors sees the ball shifted to Iniesta, who adjusts his feet well before bending an effort just wide of the far post.

Barcelona have the lead here and they are just about shading things. The opener came via a moment of brilliance from Messi, but Las Palmas have offered very little going the other way in the final third.

Las Palmas may not have offered much of a threat but they have certainly made Barcelona work for everything tonight. The defenders have been brilliant and Jemez's charges have pressed with great intensity. Despite all of that, though, they still find themselves behind.

Jemez can't really ask much more of his side given how tepid they have been in front of goal all season. The hosts have approached this contest with commendable energy, but have clearly lacked the required quality to hurt Barcelona.

Having said that, a moment of magic or a set piece could bring them back into the contest and that is something Valverde will be wary of during the second half. Barcelona will want the second goal in order to kill this game as early as possible.

SECOND HALF! We are now moving again at the Estadio Gran Canaria.

What is going on? Las Palmas are awarded a very soft penalty for an apparent handball from Digne, as the ball deflects off bodies in the box before hitting the post. It leaves Calleri with the chance to rifle home from the spot, which he does with unerring calm.

That had all sprung from a rather needless corner too, which Barcelona failed to deal with for the first time tonight. It certainly is a very, very odd decision from the referee, though. A real mystery penalty...

Etebo breaks brilliantly from midfield and races beyond both Vermaelen and Umtiti, leaving the latter to bring the midfielder down just shy of the box.

For some strange reason, Galvez comes forward to deliver and he fires a wild shot straight over the crossbar without testing Ter Stegen in the Barca goal.

The goal has really boosted the hosts, who have shaded this second half in both energy and possession...

Iniesta's radar has been slightly off in this game and once again he comes up short as he is dispossessed on the edge of the area by Gomez. Coutinho is now warming up.

SUBSTITUTE: It's not Iniesta but Vidal who is taken off, as Coutinho comes into the fray.

Vermaelen and Umtiti need to be careful here, this time they lose the run of Calleri who peels off the back, but the frontman can't quite bring the ball under control and Ter Stegen comes out to gather inside the box.

CHANCE! Coutinho produces a lovely through-ball to feed Messi beyond the last man. It looks as though the striker is clean through on goal only to be thwarted by a miraculous recovering challenge from Aguirregaray, who stops an almost-certain goal with an outstretched leg.

Coutinho is looking dangerous already and a one-two with Messi almost sees the Brazilian pounce, but Navarro gets in the way and allows Chichizola to smother the danger.

Where do Barcelona go from here? They certainly need to find another gear if they want to find this all-important second goal.

YELLOW CARD! Oghenekaro Etebo has been everywhere tonight and this time he is back breaking up a counter. He does go into the book for a foul on Messi, though.

Messi sends the delivery into the box, where Rakitic heads the ball down and claims for a penalty for a supposed handball, but the referee is having none of it.

Messi is offering a few moments of danger again and this time he is upended by Galvez on the edge of the area. The Argentine goes for glory again on the edge of the box, although his effort cannons into the wall.

SUBSTITUTION: Las Palmas make a change now as Aquilani takes the place of Gomez in a holding midfield role.

Barca need a big 20 minutes here if the want to restore that seven-point lead tonight. Las Palmas have done just about enough to continuously break up the play and prevent the visitors from finding some rhythm since drawing level.

Valverde is starting to pace with a bit of concern, this time as Digne sends a woeful cross into the box much to the dismay of both Messi and Suarez in the middle.

Las Palmas have just dropped a little deeper in the last few minutes and Barca are enjoying more of the ball in their half. Still the hosts are holding firm and at the moment look good value for a draw.

Calleri is in a spot of bother here with blood dripping from his head. The striker had slid in on Vermaelen, whose bought caught the frontman in the face. The hosts are down to 10 men for a few moments here.

Dembele finds room over on the right and gets it out of his feet for a cross, but Suarez can't make use of the ball into the box.

Again Barca continue to push for the vital goal, but Suarez comes up short as the door is shut once again by Galvez, who has been exceptional tonight.

Not long for Palmas to hold out for what could be a crucial point in their bid to survive relegation this term... It's all Barca at the moment, though.

Barca essentially have everybody inside the home half apart from the keeper now, but still Las Palmas hold their ground as we head into the dying embers.

Still nothing going for Barca, who look a tad bereft of ideas in the final third despite such an array of attacking talent on show.

We're going to have a huge six minutes of additional time!

Are we going to see a wild finish here? Coutinho chips into the middle, where Rakitic earns a corner. The set piece is taken short and somehow Las Palmas earn themselves a crucial free kick when Calleri buys himself a smart one...

All hands to the pump now for Las Palmas, who earn a corner that feels like victory. The hosts are taking every bit of time possible!

A really frustrating night for Barcelona, then. Las Palmas defended excellently though and were good value for the point at home. The visitors will feel very aggrieved at the penalty decision and the referee arguably has something to answer for. This draw now sets up a brilliant clash for Barca with Atleti at the weekend, with Valverde's charges just five points clear of the capital club. That's going to be all from me tonight, thanks for joining us!