Preview – Barcelona vs Real Sociedad
Wednesday will see two of Spain’s biggest clubs, Barcelona and Real Sociedad, lock horns in a highly-anticipated Camp Nou showdown. This game will pit the struggling Blaugrana against the high-flying Whites and Blue in a fixture that could turn the Catalan giants’ fortunes around or deepen their misery this season.
Koeman’s men head into this game on the back of a 1-0 win over Levante, but that was another game in which Messi and Co. were made to work harder than expected for a victory. Leo was the goalscorer in that game, with the Argentine breaking the deadlock in the 76th minute to earn his side the much-needed three points.
Having lost 2-1 to Cadiz in La Liga and 3-0 to Juventus at home in the sixth and final group-stage round of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona could not afford a third straight defeat. Fortunately, they got past Levante but the question is will Wednesday’s showdown be yet another example of one step forward, two steps back for Barcelona.
The Blaugrana are eighth in the table and are five points adrift of the top four, hence the importance of getting back on track. Victory at the Camp Nou would be their fourth straight home victory and would be a great way to kick off a turnaround ahead of the second half of the season. Unfortunately, their opponents are no pushovers.
La Real’s form has dipped as of late, drawing six games in a row after the 1-1 stalemate vs Eibar over the weekend. Regardless, David Silva and Co. are top of the table despite being level on points with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Will Barcelona win this midweek fixture or will Real Sociedad hand them an upset? Tune in to find out!
Team news
Barcelona: Ousmane Dembele will miss this clash after suffering yet another injury, with a hamstring issue set to sidelined the Frenchman. He is joined by Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto, and most importantly, Ansu Fati, who had been a integral part of Barcelona’s attack prior to his unfortunate knee injury.
Real Sociedad: The visitors have a number of issues, with Aritz Elustondo being ruled out due to a rib injury. La Real star Mikel Oyarzabal is also set to miss this game due to a muscle injury while David Silva might not be fit enough to make the lineup and could be forced to start on the bench.
Key stats
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Real Sociedad are winless in their eight meetings vs Barcelona (D2, L6), last beating them in April 2016.
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The Catalan giants are on a 22-game home winning streak vs La Real.
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One more victory over the Whites and Blue would see the Blaugrana equal their record for the best ever winning run against this opponent at the Camp Nou.
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The Catalan giants have not lost at home to a Basque club in their last 15 games (14W 1D).
Broadcast listings
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
