With their sights set on keeping their four point advantage over Real Madrid, Barcelona will host Almeria on Wednesday, April 8th. While Los Blaugranas have won every single match against Los Rojiblancos at any stadium they meet, the visiting side might have a much needed boost to try and shock Luis Enrique's team after coach Juan Ignacio Martinez was sacked due to their 4-1 loss against Levante.
The current La Liga leaders get to this match in top form,but they have every single reason not to be too confident despite having all stats favoring them in their previous matches against the Andalucians. With three matches ahead this week, it's rather important for Barcelona to have everyone contributing to their performance, especially Neymar, who hasn't been able to score a goal since February 15th. Furthermore, this is a golden opportunity for Lionel Messi to get back on the scoring track, having failed to put his name on the scoreboard in the last two La Liga games. Coach Luis Enrique knows very well this is a huge game for his side, even if the two teams are separared by 45 points this season.
On the other hand, Almeria's chances of winning the match are rather minimum, having lost five out of the last six games played at Camp Nou. Their current form is also an issue, since Juan Ignacio Martinez had to leave his seat as coach for the poor results he turned in, losing four out of the last six, earning two points with draws against Villarreal and Deportivo. Newly appointed coach Sergi Barjuan, one of Barcelona's historic players, knows their opponent's philosophy first hand, and he will surely try to make an impact since his very first game with his new team. After playing with Barcelona for 9 years, Barjuan played five games against Los Culés, winning two and equalizing three more. The former left back is the third coach for Almeria this season, and will most likely be in charge of the team for the remainder of the season, aiming to get the club out of relegation problems.
During their previous meeting this season, Almeria scored first via Thievy Bifouma, but late goals by Neymar and Jordi Alba ended up giving Los Blaugranas three points.
FC Barcelona vs Almeria team sheets
Barcelona's XI: Bravo, Alves, Bartra, Mascherano, Adriano, Sergi Roberto, Rakitic, Xavi, Suárez, Messi, Pedro.
Almería's XI: Julián;Casado, Trujillo,Ximo, A. Marín; Corona, Thomas, Wellington Silva, Édgar, Espinosa, Thievy.
Barcelona's subs: Ter Stegen, Montoya, Mathieu, Piqué, Iniesta, Rafinha, Neymar
Almería's subs: To follow.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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