Barcelona welcome Sporting Gijon at the Nou Camp as they continue with their hunt for the league title. The Catalan giants finally went back to their winning ways when they thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 on Wednesday in a match when Luis Suarez suddenly came alive after a series of misfiring most recently during the 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad. The Uruguayan scored four goals and provided three assists, hence creating a new La Liga record for the first player to make such an achievement.
However, La Pulga could still feature on Saturday after skipping Friday’s training session in order to rest and access the extent of the injury. Besides, if he plays on Saturday, he will still have one more week to rest as two of their rivals in the title race, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, continue with their quest to win the Champions League at midweek. Since Barca are no longer in the Champions League, their players will have adequate time to rest.
Back to the race for La Liga title, Sporting Gijon pulled a shocking 2-1 over Sevilla in their midweek fixture and will be hoping to repeat the same results against the Blaugrana who have proven to be beatable in their most recent games. Sporting are staring right into the face of relegation but luckily for them, all is not lost. They are just one point away from safety, and a win over Barca could pull them out of the pit of fire.
On the other hand, Luis Enrique’s men need nothing less than a win in order to continue with their slim lead at the top of the league. Their Madrid rivals Real and Atleti have been impressive ever since they realized that they could actually win the league, and they do not look like they would back down on their ambitions.
Team news
Barcelona
Gerard Pique is expected to return to the back four alongside Dani Alves after serving his suspension. Luis Suarez is expected to lead the attack after an impressive run against Deportivo last Wednesday.
Sporting Gijon
Omar Mascarell returns after serving his suspension and could start alongside Sergi Alvarez at the midfield. Nacho Cases could also start at the midfield. However, Antonio Sanabria and Jony are still doubtful for this fixture, but could make a late return.
Match facts
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Barca’s last 16 home games in the league
- Barca have beaten Gijon in 8 of their last 9 meetings in all competitions
- Gijon have not won 12 of their last 13 away league games
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
