Challenges between the sticks

The Liga returns this Saturday against Elche (9pm CET), and as well as looking to maintain the 12-point lead on Real Madrid, Barça have other reasons to want a good performance against the bottom-placed side.

One of those is to keep alive its chances of setting some amazing defensive records after coming this far after only conceding nine goals and keeping a staggering 19 clean sheets.

Four clean sheets from club record

Four more shutouts and Barça will have matched the 23 in the 2014/15 season, with Claudio Bravo in goal.

Barça has kept 20 clean sheets four times before, in 1972/73, 1988/89, 2004/05 and 2009/10. So just one more game without conceding and those tallies will have been matched.

Chasing Chelsea

Bravo's 23 clean sheets is one of the four best records ever in Europe's 'big five' leagues. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea set the record of 25 in 2004/05, while Manchester United (2008/09) and Atletico Madrid (2015/16) managed an impressive 24.

Best defensive record?

The club's lowest number of goals conceded in a season was the 18 in 1968/69 under Salvador Artigas. That was in just 30 matches, but all the same, Barça could beat that record this year having played 38 matches!

In a 34-game Liga, Barça's best record was 21 goals against (1972/73), and in a 38-game league they also kept it down to 21 in 2010/11 and 2014/15. These are all records that Barça could also beat this season.

The league record is held by Real Madrid, who conceded just 15 goals in 1931/32, but that was in the days when teams only played 18 matches. Incredibly, Barça could yet beat that record after playing more than twice as many games, although that is quite a big ask!

More chasing of Chelsea

The best defensive record in Europe's 'big five' leagues was the paltry 15 that Chelsea conceded in the aforesaid 2004/05 season. Bayern Munich are second with just 17 in 2015/16, and Atlético Madrid has the Spanish record with 18 in 2015/16. Barça still have nine goals in hand to topple that record. It could happen!