Evening all. No La Liga weekend is complete without seeing Barcelona in action, is it?! Here they travel to Real Zaragoza, who are in desperate need of the points to help with their fight against relegation.

Right, there is only around five minutes until we get underway at La Romareda. So, without further ado, let's bring you the team news - starting with the away side.

BARCELONA XI: Valdes; Alves, Bartra, Adriano, Montoya; Song, Xavi, Thiago; Sanchez, Fabregas, Tello

Well, that is not a Barcelona starting lineup that you will see too often. The likes of Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Andres Iniesta are out - that's a big trio to be missing. Their absences mean that the likes of Cristian Tello, Thiago and Alex Song have been given a chance to impress.

ZARAGOZA XI: Jimenez; Paredes, Sapunaru, Loovens, Gonzalez; Movilla, Montanes, Jose Mari; Postiga, Rodri, Victor Rodriguez

GAME ON! Right then, the players are out and a ready to go. Barcelona will be wearing that rather bright orange strips of theirs. There is no excuses for Zaragoza players not marking their men - they are easy enough to see!

Very little to report during the opening few minutes. The only real chance has fallen to Barca's Tello, but he was never going to score from such a narrow angle and the ball flew well wide of the target. To be fair to Zaragoza, they are keeping hold of possession well at the moment.

Still not a lot happening. I'm determined not to mention how much less of a threat Barca pose without the influence of Messi, but if this continues, it is going to be unavoidable! The home team will be very happy with their work during the opening 10 minutes.

Where Barcelona are concerned, it's all breaking down in the final third of the pitch. Not only is Messi's presence missed, but the cuteness of Iniesta's play is something that any side would struggle without. The likes of Thiago and Cesc Fabregas are talented players, but they are not of the same ilk as their injured teammates.

CHANCE! The first real opening for Barca as Alexis Sanchez gets himself to the right byline. The Chilean international gets his head up and picks out Tello on the edge of the area, but the young Spanish striker lashes his shot wildly over the crossbar.

Scrap everything I just said about Thiago because he has just scored a goal that even Messi would be proud of! The Spanish youth international picks up the ball inside the Zaragoza half and drives forward. He then exchanges passes with Sanchez, before rolling the ball into the net from the edge of the area via the post. Classy stuff from Thiago and Barcelona lead.

BOOKING! That is the clearest yellow card that you will see anywhere in the world this weekend! Sanchez collects possession on the halfway line and all of a sudden both of his legs are wiped from beneath him by Movilla. That's silly from such an experienced player. He has to be careful now.

A stat from Opta on Twitter: "Chilean Alexis Sanchez has directly participated in five of the last six Barcelona’s goals in league (2 goals 3 assists). Reinvention."

Barca are now well in command of this contest, although they are not really working Jimenez in the home goal. It's patient stuff from the visitors though as they wait for a gap to appear in the defence. At the moment, it feels like it will only be a matter of time before they score a second.

Lovely goal from Barcelona, who are cruising at the moment. Having scored earlier on, Thiago threads a pass through the eye of a needle for Tello to the left of the penalty area. The youngster takes one touch before curling the ball into the far corner and beyond the reach of Jimenez. That's wonderful technique.

SAVE! Almost a third for Barcelona and it was all down to poor defending from the home team. They have three chances to clear their lines, but fail to take any of them and the ball drops to Sanchez. His drive from 12 yards out is good, but Jimenez gets his body behind the ball to push clear the danger.

We will have one minute of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

Well that was all a bit low-key. Barcelona played at their pace and as a result have opened up a two-goal advantage. Their supporters will also be pleased to see that the two goalscorers are youngsters that have come through the famous La Masia complex.

On the other hand, Zaragoza have been poor. Yes they are up against some very talented footballers, but they are showing them far too much respect. Each time a Barca player gets the ball, they are given enough time to lift up their heads and then pick out a teammate with a pass. If you're ever going to get anything out of Barca, you need to work hard and Zaragoza didn't during that first half.

Their supporters are also not happy. As the players left the field of play for the break a large number of jeers rung out around La Romareda. In a way you can understand their frustration - their team hasn't won since November after all. That would test even the most committed fan!

Before the second half gets back underway, here is another stat from Opta concerning Thiago: "Thiago Alcantara has scored and assisted in a league game for 1st time in this season - the 2nd in his top-flight trajectory. Skill."

As Zaragoza get the second half started, they do so with a fresh face on the pitch as teenage striker Jorge Orti has been thrown on to make an impact. He has taken the place of Victor Rodriguez, who was ineffective during the first 45 minutes.

OFF THE BAR! So unlucky Sanchez, who deserved to put Barca 3-0 up just for the sheer skill that was involved in his effort. With no teammates in support, he opted to chip goalwards from 18 yards out. Jimenez is a mere spectator but luckily for him and the home team the ball cannons to safety off the crossbar.

There will come a time when Tello is an automatic starter, even when Barca are at full strength - that may even come as early as next season. He has so much pace and shows that in abundance when he squares up Glenn Loovens, before bursting past the former Celtic defender. From there he only has Jimenez to beat and he does so with ease. Another classy finish from the 21-year-old.

More from Opta on Twitter: "Cristian Tello has scored against Zaragoza his 1st brace for Barcelona in La Liga (10 goals in 32 league games). Dagger."

It's all too late, but Zaragoza have started to force themselves upon Barca a little bit. They are seeing a bit more of the ball and have even sent over a couple of dangerous crosses into the area. Shame they didn't start this way.

SUBSTITUTION: It's one former Premier League player for another as Zaragoza replace ex Tottenham Hotspur striker Helder Postiga with Ruben Rochina, who recently spent some time with Blackburn Rovers during their stint in the top flight.

Opta really are helping me out this evening! Here's a major reason behind Zaragoza's struggles of late: "Helder Postiga has now netted 11 league goals this season, his best return in La Liga. Unnoticed."

BOOKING! A very un-Barcelona-like tackle by Sanchez, who hacks Rodri to the floor with a sliding challenge. He's rightly booked for his trouble. The resultant free kick is in a good position, but Movilla sends it halfway up the stand behind the goal.

SUBSTITUTION: A nice moment here as the whole ground stands to applaud Eric Abidal onto the pitch. It's great to see the French international back playing following his well-documented health problems. He has taken the place of Adriano at the heart of the Barcelona defence.

SUBSTITUTION: Another switch for Barca as veteran midfielder Xavi makes way for the youthful Sergi Roberto. He's been injured in recent weeks but is very highly rated by the coaching staff at Barcelona. Like they need another talented midfield player!

BOOKING! Alvaro you lucky, lucky boy. The Zaragoza defender has been booked for dumping Sanchez on the ground with a late challenge. What the referee didn't see was him then kick the Barcelona attacker as he tried to get back on his feet. Had that been spotted, he would have been heading for an early bath. While that was going on, former Zaragoza striker David Villa has replaced Tello for Barcelona.

SAVE! Young Roberto is already looking like a Barca-type of player. Just now he picks up possession and beats two players, before slipping a pass through for Sanchez. His shot from the edge of the box is instant and powerful, but Jimenez is able to get down and push clear the danger.

We will have three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half.

And that is that - as comfortable a victory as you will ever see for Barcelona. They've rested a number of players as well. All in all, a fine evening's work for the Catalan outfit. They are now 16 points clear at the top, but that can change if Real Madrid win at Athletic Bilbao. You can follow that match with us on Sports Mole shortly. Until then, goodbye.