Sergio Busquets is one of four players to be left out of Barcelona's squad for Saturday's trip to Leganes as Luis Enrique continues with his rotation policy during a run of seven games in 23 days.
Midfielder Busquets is the only Barca player to have started all six games so far this season -- three in La Liga, two in the Spanish Super Cup and one in the Champions League -- but it's a record which will not extend to seven matches.
Luis Enrique had said in the preview to Tuesday's 7-0 win over Celtic that the 28-year-old would be one of the least-rotated players this season.
Evidently that doesn't mean never, though, and Javier Mascherano, Andre Gomes and Ivan Rakitic are among the candidates who could take Busquets' place at the base of the Blaugrana midfield.
Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal and third-choice goalkeeper Jordi Masip are the other three players to be cut from the squad for the fourth game of the new La Liga season.
📋 Esta es la lista de 18 jugadores convocados para jugar contra el Leganés https://t.co/bQXuxJRKRs #FCBLive pic.twitter.com/wEDDHJbhpL
- FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) September 16, 2016
The surprise 2-1 defeat to Alaves at Camp Nou last weekend has increased the spotlight on Luis Enrique's rotations, with pressure on him not to make as many changes at Butarque this weekend.
However, he has stressed the importance of managing how many games his players play throughout the course of the season.
"All the players are aware what they need to do [to stay fit]," he said in a news conference on Friday.
"They have 70 games to get through in a season at club level, plus international football, and it's impossible for all players to play every minute of 90 games.
"We are on a cycle of seven games in 23 days, so that's two down [Alaves and Celtic], and we obviously have to plan for these things.
"You can prepare things for these seven games, but every game finishes differently, players finish differently, with things to improve individually and collectively, so we have to make decisions as we go.
"We have Atletico [Madrid], games in Vigo, Germany and then the international break. We have to adapt what we can and make sure we get positive results for the team."
One part of the Barcelona side which is expected to stay the same is the front three.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar started together for the first time this season against Celtic and all three should keep their places against Leganes.