36' OFF THE BAR! Dest hangs a dangerous cross into the box that Remiro has to tip on to the bar. Zubimendi has to react to clear ahead of Dembele on the rebound.
35' Portu makes a great surge on the counter for Sociedad down the right flank. He surges inside to look for Isak with a chipped pass, but De Jong blocks the offload. Sociedad claim it was with his hand, and they were right. However, there's nothing the Dutchman could do about it.
34' BLOCK! Alba makes a run down the left flank and clips a cross back to Pedri on the edge of the box. The midfielder takes a touch before firing at goal, but his effort is blocked by Zubeldia.
32' Busquets has to be careful as he fouls Merino in the middle of the park having already been booked.
31' Dest does well down the right to beat two challenges before being pulled back by Le Normand. Despite the perceived foul, the referee play on even after he loses possession. The Barca man is furious.
29' MIngueza makes a break forward from the back and tries to play in Dembele, but his offload deflects off Le Normand and out for a throw-in.
24' SAVE! Isak comes close to breaking the deadlock. He breaks down the left flank to latch on to Merquelanz's pass and brushes De Jong off the ball. Isak runs into the left inside channel and skips past Mingueza before seeing a right-footed strike saved by Ter Stegen.
23' Messi finds space in the final third and he tries to run at the Sociedad defence. Zubeldia gets back at the Argentine to make the decisive tackle.
21' Portu tries to surge forward down the right flank for the home side before cutting in on his left foot. However, low cross into the middle evades Oyarzabel and Isak, travelling into the hands of Ter Stegen.
19' Barca have not been able to break into their stride this evening, but have not been troubled at the back themselves. Koeman will be satisfied with proceedings at the moment.
17' Busquets sends a pass towards Messi, who turns to fire at goal from the edge of the box. His effort is deflected by Le Normand, and Remiro tries to stop it travelling out for a corner. He succeeds, but pushes the ball back into a dangerous area. Fortunately for the Sociedad keeper, Le Normand reacts first to clear.
15' There has not been a great deal of tempo to the contest in the opening 15 minutes. Barca are doing all of the pressing with the home side content to sit back and play on the counter.
13' Messi tries to force his way through traffic in the final third, but Zubimendi clears off the arm of the Argentine, earning a free-kick for the home side.
11' Alba works the ball to Messi on the edge of the box and he takes a strike on his right foot, only to place his effort straight at Remiro.
8' Pedri tries to weave his way through the Socieded defence, but is halted by a good challenge from Zubeldia.
6' Griezmann catches Oyarzabel with a boot on the foot, and the Sociedad forward feels the affects. He limps around the pitch for a few seconds after the fact.
6' Merino turns in the final third and surges down the left flank. He arcs a cross to the back post, only to overhit his delivery out for a goal-kick.
4' Messi tries to arc a cross to the back post for Alba to chase, but the full-back moves a fraction too soon and is caught offside.
2' Messi clips a ball over the top for Dest to chase down the right. However, he handles the ball in the area and gives away a free-kick.
1' We're underway in this LaLiga clash.
Real Sociedad have not won any of their last nine games against Barcelona in LaLiga (D2 L7), since a 1-0 win in April 2016 thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal´s goal.
Messi becomes Barcelona's all-time leader in appearances this evening as he breaks his tie with Xavi, earning his 768th appearance for the Catalan club. Barca are unchanged from their win over Huesca last time out, with Messi, Dembele and Griezmann leading the line. De Jong may drop into a back three alongside Mingueza and Lenglet, allowing Dest and Alba to push forward as wing-backs.
Sociedad have made four changes to their side from their defeat to Granada. Imanol is without David Silva and Aihen Munoz, while Illarramendi and Januzaj drop to the bench. Merquelanz, Portu, Guevara and Zubimendi come into the fold for the home team this evening.
BARCELONA SUBS: Ronald Araujo, Miralem Pjanic, Martin Braithwaite, Riqui Puig, Neto, Trincao, Matheus Fernandes, Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, Ilaix Moriba, Arnau Tenas.
BARCELONA (4-3-3) Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergino Dest, Oscar Mingueza, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Ousmane Dembele, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann.
REAL SOCIEDAD SUBS: Asier Illarramendi, Carlos Fernandez, Adnan Januzaj, Modibo Sagnan, Ander Barrenetxea, Jon Bautista, Roberto Lopez, Unai Marrero.
REAL SOCIEDAD (4-4-2): Alex Remiro; Andoni Gorosabel, Igo Zubeldia, Robin Le Normand, Martin Merquelanz; Portu, Ander Guevara, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino; Mikel Oyarzabal, Alexander Isak.
Barcelona have rounded into form to make a surge towards the top of LaLiga. The Catalan club are unbeaten in their last 17 league matches, winning 11 out of their last 12 games. Ronald Koeman's men begin the evening four points behind Atletico Madrid at the top, but a win on the road against Sociedad would put the pressure right back on their rivals. Barca are very dangerous at the moment in the league.
Real Sociedad saw a seven-game unbeaten run in LaLiga ended last time out in a 1-0 defeat to Granada on the road. Imanol Alguacil's men are currrently 10 points off the pace in a bid for Champions League football. The club enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign, but since December they've gradually slid down the table. Sociedad need victories to propel themselves back into contention and a win over Barca would send out a strong statement.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the LaLiga clash between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Reale Arena.
