Lionel Messi will miss Barcelona's first game of the season for the first time in a decade as injury means he'll sit it out as the defending LaLiga champions kick-off against Athletic Bilbao on Friday night.
Messi is still recovering from a calf injury and the club do not want to take any risks with their star man - meaning the Argentinian will missed the start of the season for the first time in 10 years.
Coach Ernesto Valverde insisted the 32-year-old, who scored 36 goals in 34 league matches last term, will not be risked as he continues his recovery from injury, but says he is on the right track.
"We are not going to take risks and less so with Leo," Valverde said in a press conference reported by Marca. "He hasn't trained yet with the team. We will wait, but he is following a fairly good recovery process."
The 55-year-old also insisted the visit to Bilbao would not be straightforward for Barcelona, who have won the last two league titles.
Valverde said: "It's a complicated game to start with. They have had a good pre-season and play with a lot of high pressure (on the pitch), and we have to be careful.
"We want to start off on a good note and win our third consecutive LaLiga Santander title."
Valverde will also be without Neto through injury while Jean-Clair Todibo, Arthur Melo, Moussa Wague, and Arturo Vidal have all been left out by the coach.
The last two meetings between the sides both ended in a draw although Barcelona won four consecutive matches against Bilbao before the 2018-19 season.
Bilbao coach Gaizka Garitano believes his side's strength at the San Mames Stadium will give them an edge.
"With the atmosphere of San Mames and the closeness we achieved with the stands last season, it is as if we were playing with one more," he told the club website.
"Since last year we have achieved very good results at home. We are aware that it will be difficult but we are optimistic of making things as difficult as possible."
Garitano said he expected a strong Barcelona team, adding: "We are prepared to do it well. We are a very strong team at home.
"We hope to put on a good performance; we have to play the same game or better than last year to beat them.
"That is the goal we have in mind."
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