Almeria, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona will attempt to get back to winning ways on Saturday when the club heads to the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos to take on Almeria.
After opening the season with 22 points from eight matches, the Catalans have dropped two straight in league play to slip from their perch atop the La Liga table.
A loss to Real Madrid in El Clasico was exacerbated by an uncharacteristic home defeat to Celta Vigo last time out, leaving the legendary club in a bit of a rut.
The poor vein of form has coincided with the introduction of Luis Suarez, who returned from a four-month suspension to make his full Barcelona debut in the 3-1 loss to Madrid.
The Uruguayan provided the assist on the opening goal but was anonymous for the remainder of the match, raising questions as to whether he should have been thrust into the mix immediately following his suspension or slowly integrated into the side.
"Luis Suarez is not a winger, that is clear - but he can play out wide and bring things to the team," Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said with regard to Suarez possibly playing out of his preferred position. "Any of the three players we have up top can play in any of the three positions."
"Sometimes it goes more quickly, and sometimes more slowly," Enrique continued. "Sometimes things go better than I expected, sometimes we slip backwards. There are a lot of new things."
Barcelona did manage to collect a win over Ajax in Champions League play on Wednesday, but the club will hope to transfer that momentum into Saturday's clash at Almeria.
Real Madrid usurped Barcelona for top spot in the La Liga table by claiming a resounding 4-0 victory over Granada last time out. The Galacticos will aim to keep rolling in a Madrid derby at the Bernabeu against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Celta Vigo has enjoyed a three-game unbeaten run to climb to sixth place in the table. The club will return to action on Saturday with a home match against a Granada side that has lost five of its last six league contests.
Also in La Liga action on Saturday, Malaga will host Eibar at La Rosaleda and Elche will travel to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to take on Getafe.
Atletico Madrid enters the weekend one point back of top spot after going on a three-game winning run. The reigning league champions will aim to make it a fourth straight victory by taking maximum points from their trip to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Valencia is level with Atletico Madrid on 23 points apiece and will attempt to keep the pressure on the reigning champions by getting a home win over Athletic Bilbao at the Mestalla earlier on Sunday.
Sevilla will attempt to rebound from a disappointing defeat last time out when it plays host to Levante on Sunday while Villarreal will hope to snap a two- game slide when it heads to Espanyol.
Friday's lone match saw Cordoba and Deportivo battle to a 0-0 draw in a matchup of relegation-struggling teams.
