Eibar vs Barcelona - Barcelona eye victory at Eibar to bring Spanish title closer

Barcelona will be out to sustain their seemingly unstoppable momentum towards the Primera Division title when they head to Eibar on Sunday.

Head coach Luis Enrique rotated the defence away to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday, but his attack again delivered a familiar devastating performance as Lionel Messi plundered a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over relegation-battling hosts who ended the match with only nine men.

Defender Dani Alves is set to return at the Ipurua stadium on Sunday following a suspension, while Jordi Alba should come in again at left-back having been rested.

Forward Neymar, though, will miss out because of his one-match ban so Turkey international Arda Turan is expected to fill in on the left, having come off the bench to score his first Barcelona goal with a late fifth against Rayo Vallecano.

After extending their unbeaten run to a Spanish record 35 games - and with one foot already in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 2-0 first-leg victory at Arsenal - Barcelona look well set for another successful end to the campaign.

Eibar, meanwhile, have suffered three defeats in a row, leaving them in eighth and off the pace for the European places.

Indeed, a 2-0 home win over Levante on February 14 was their only positive result out of the past seven matches.

Nevertheless, Barcelona utility man Sergi Roberto maintains the leaders cannot just expect to turn up and record another comfortable win.

"Ipurua will also be a very tough game, but we will be going there with the idea of winning another three points," he said.

"We hope we can continue our unbeaten run because that means we will be getting more points."

Andres Iniesta feels the Barcelona squad must remain focused on the next objective in front of them and not yet dream of any prizes which may await.

"The team is in fine spirit. We taking things step by step, but they are solid steps," he said, on Barcelona's website.

Eibar went down 1-0 at Sevilla on Wednesday night, when defender Lillo was sent off with just two minutes left after collecting a second yellow card.

Despite poor recent form, midfielder Adrian Gonzalez is convinced Jose Luis Mendilibar's squad can get things right to secure a positive end to a campaign, which would ultimately mean retaining top-flight status.

"What we are clear on is that we are just a couple of games away from ensuring our stay," he said on Eibar's website.

"We go slowly, step by step, and even when we have been sitting in the European places this (survival) has been our immediate goal.

"Our approach is to get the necessary points and then we will see how far the team goes."

Argentinian midfielder Gonzalo Escalante believes the team are heading in the right direction.

He said: "We will soon get victories. We must continue working, we are closer than ever to pulling this off and it will be so.

"We are always together, always fighting back and are a very united group."

Escalante is in no doubt of what to expect on Sunday.

He said: "Everyone knows what Barcelona are, so prepare in the best way - rest and be ready for what is coming in order to get one or three points."