Lionel Messi has been left out of Barcelona's squad to face Real Betis in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Messi returned to training this week after recovering from a right calf injury picked up in preseason, but the Argentina star was not included in the list of players available for the team's home opener at Camp Nou Stadium.
Coach Ernesto Valverde is also without forwards Luiz Suárez and Ousmane Dembele because of injuries. Antoine Griezmann is expected to lead the line in the absence of all the first-choice forwards for Barcelona.
Earlier, Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Valladolid on Friday, and Barcelona now have a chance to close the point-gap with their arch-rivals to 1.
Lionel Messi missed the team's 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the league opener last weekend.
Barcelona squad for the match against Real Betis: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo, Rafinha, Clement Lenglet, Antoine Griezmann, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie de Jong, Arturo Vidal, Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, Inaki Pena, Carles Perez and Ansu Fati.
(With inputs from AP)
