Barcelona welcome Sevilla to Camp Nou on Sunday night with coach Xavi hoping his side can extend their "extraordinary" form of the first half of the season into the second.
The Catalans lead reigning champions Real Madrid by five points La Liga having reached the milestone of 50 points at the halfway stage of the season.
Only two sides have reached 100 points in the Spanish league's history, Real Madrid in the 2011/12 season and Barcelona the following year.
It is the fifth time Barcelona have earned that many points at this point of a campaign and four times they went on to lift the title.
"I don't like drawing conclusions halfway through the season, everything can still be turned on its head," Xavi said after an impressive midweek win at Real Betis.
"We have to match this first half. We are on a good path, but there are 19 more games to go — the numbers [so far] are extraordinary."
Barca's impressive first half of the campaign has been built on a watertight defence, conceding just seven goals all season in the top flight, with new arrivals Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen key.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has returned to his best form too, making the Catalans Europe's meanest defence across the top five leagues.
By contrast opponents Sevilla are having their worst season for some time, although the roots of revival under Jorge Sampaoli are finally growing.
The Andalusians, 13th, have won three of their past four league games, after only two victories in their first 15.
Without injured winger Ousmane Dembele, Barca still earned a 2-1 win at Real Betis to hit 50 points.
Dembele's replacement, Raphinha, netted the opening goal, after a clever quickly-taken free-kick by Frenkie de Jong.
Xavi said the goal demonstrated his team was mentally ready to succeed this season.
"It's about attitude, competitiveness, desire, faith, our hopes are huge," added the coach.
"We have confidence and the morale to achieve success."
The Blaugrana are boosted by Robert Lewandowski's return from suspension, with the Polish forward scoring his 14th league goal of the season against Betis.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
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Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
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Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
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Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
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2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
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3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
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4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
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5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
