Despite their resurgence this season, there was always going to be a difficult period for Barcelona to overcome. At some point the injuries were always going to stack up, and the suspensions collide all at once.
That period of the season has now arrived. Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele are injured. Barring a turn of good fortune, the Blaugrana will spend at least the next two weeks without their top goalscorer, best midfielder and most reliable winger.
A suspension picked up by Gavi also means he will miss Sunday's clash with Valencia; the second such time the teenager has missed a crucial match for disciplinary reasons in the space of 10 days.
Their upcoming fixtures ahead of the March international break aren't the kindest, either. They face Real Madrid twice, first in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, and then in La Liga on March 19. Between those games, they host a struggling Valencia who received a new manager bounce in their last game and have a tricky trip to San Mames to face Athletic Club.
The alarm bells, then, are ringing, but perspective is important.
A loss to Madrid this week would be the third straight defeat in a week, but Barca would still have the second leg next month where they could turn the tie around.
Dropping points in La Liga would be more worrisome, though their seven-point cushion with 15 games to play remains a healthy one.
That doesn't change the fact that after two damaging losses to Manchester United and Almeria, the potential for crisis at Camp Nou is greater than it has been for most of the campaign.
So, how does Xavi avoid things spiralling further out of control and salvage positive results in his team's upcoming games? GOAL takes a look...
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