Barcelona host the reigning champions of the Spanish second-tier Almeria in La Liga on Saturday night.
The Catalan giants may have limped out of the Champions League group stage for the second year on the spin but they remain a force to be reckoned with domestically. Since an opening day draw, Barcelona have won ten of their 11 league matches – though that defeat was a bitter loss in el Clasico.
After successive years of playoff heartbreak, the Andalusian club backed by the extravagant wealth of Turki Al-Sheikh returned to the top flight last summer. Almeria may be waiting for their maiden clean sheet of the campaign but they go into the weekend sitting 13th in the table.
Here’s everything you need to know about the meeting between this pair.
Barcelona vs Almeria H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Barcelona: 5 Wins
Almeria: 0 Wins
Draws: 0
Current Form (Last Five Games)
Barcelona: WWLWW
Almeria: WLWLW
Barcelona team news
Both Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde limped out of Barcelona’s narrow victory against Valencia last weekend, adding to the mounting number of injured centre-backs at the club. Ronald Araujo is out until after the World Cup with a hip problem while Andreas Christensen has been sidelined by a sprained ankle for a month.
However, the club revealed that Garcia and Kounde have only suffered muscle strains. While the pair are expected to be available for the World Cup, Saturday night may arrive too soon for the duo.
Franck Kessie has not been so fortunate and is expected to miss out until late November with a hamstring problem. Sergi Roberto’s dislocated shoulder has placed him on a similar recovery trajectory while Memphis Depay (thigh) hasn’t featured since September.
Robert Lewandowski was rested for the Champions League dead rubber against Viktoria Plzen with a back complaint but is expected to return this weekend.
Barcelona Starting 11 (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Bellerin, Pique, Alonso, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, De Jong; Dembele, Lewandowski, Pedri.
Bench: Pena, Raphinha, Fati, Torre, Alba, Torres, Ilias, Casado, Sanz.
Almeria team news
Neither Ivan Martos nor Juanjo Nieto has featured for Almeria since promotion as both continue the gruelling recovery required to return from a ruptured cruciate ligament. Martos is back in training but neither are expected to feature this weekend.
Alex Centelles has, impressively, more red cards (one) than appearances (zero) this season. The backup left-back isn’t set to address that balance while he nurses a sprained ankle.
Almeria…
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