At first glance, Almeria are clearly the underdogs; but to some extent, they will have the power to decide the future of the Catalans, as the situation is plain.

Holding Barcelona to a draw would be enough to let Real Madrid join Barcelona at the top of La Liga if Los Blancos overcome Sevilla on the same night.

Almeria – Mission Possible?

Almeria might not have a great name with a set of star players at their disposal, but their Spanish record in recent weeks has not been as bad as one could think.

In their last 5 games

Almeria have remained unbeaten in their last 5 matches after they lost 1-0 away to Sevilla on January 23 earlier this year.

They drew 1-1 against Valladolid on January 31, and they showed even much more fire 7 days later as they defeated Sporting Gijon 3-1 at home.

A week later, they travelled to Getafe for a tough encounter, but not even the Castellans could humble them; the score line eventually ended in a 2-2 draw.

1-0 was the result of their next game at home against Atletico Madrid in front of 10,000 supporters in the third week of February.

Just recently, Almeria silenced Racing Santander by winning by 2 goals to nil away from home.

In general, their mission this weekend should not seem too difficult for them, especially not in view of their consistent and threatening form.

The advantages

Going into this game, Almeria have two major advantages.

The first benefit comes from the fact that they will be playing as the home side. Fatigue and intimidation can therefore not be excuses for their side, for on the contrary – they will be fighting the league leaders with full strength.

The second advantage is that, as a result of a nice behavior against Racing Santander last weekend, Almeria only have one player being marked with a yellow card. All the rest of their players should be fit and free to come up against Barcelona in perfect condition.

Barcelona – Keeping the authority

Lately, the Barcelona football club has been receiving critics from both their fans and general football lovers. Followers have been complaining to the team about their unstable form which has given their rivals Real Madrid a huge mental boost.

The stumbling block which has been confronting the Blaugrana has also put in doubts Barcelona’s dream of winning the Spanish Primera Division as well as the UEFA Champions League.

A convincing comeback from this unexpected predicament is urgent at the moment, and the whole state of affairs has now become a “do or die” matter for the Barcelona players, as well as for the managing staff.

Pep Guardiola – We are back to our best

Barcelona had to struggle to find a crucial 2-1 victory against Malaga last weekend at the Camp Nou, as a late goal from FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi secured the 3 points for the European giants.

This win kept Barca’s lead at the top of La Liga, and coach Pep Guardiola believes that such an important triumph is the proof of his team’s restoration.

“We probably had one of our best matches at home, and we can say that we’ve done very well,” said Guardiola.

“We have been much better than in previous encounters.

“We have found our form back and we played amazingly, so this is the path to follow now.”

Almeria vs Barcelona – Previous meetings

Almeria and Barcelona have met 5 times since the 28th of October 2007, and in approximately 450 minutes, Barca have netted 12 goals – as they have never lost against the Andalusians.

Barcelona’s best victory came back in October 2008, when Thierry Henry and Dani Alves joined Samuel Eto’o – then at the club – in the 5-0 demolition of Almeria.

Almeria have only managed to get 2 goals past the goal line of the Catalans, but their 2 only goals came in a stunning match, in which they held Barcelona 2-2 at the Estadio Mediterraneo.

Perhaps, Almeria could rely on this famous match result this Saturday when they come face to face with the league leaders; but in the meantime, here is a quick look at the 5 previous meetings between Almeria and FC Barcelona:

28 October, 2007: Barcelona 2-0 Almeria

16 March, 2008: Almeria 2-2 Barcelona

25 October 2008: Barcelona 5-0 Almería

15 March, 2009: Almería 0-2 Barcelona

3 October, 2009: Barcelona 1-0 Almeria

Predictions

The fact that FC Barcelona will be playing as the visitors makes it a little bit difficult to predict an exact score line, but at least, overall information from both sides leaves us with an idea of how this encounter could look like from a general point of view.

Barcelona are expected to throw a cautioning starting line-up against Almeria, with Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, and Dani Alves all expected to start the match at any rate.

Miraculous striker Pedro Rodriguez is not yet assured of a place in the first eleven this weekend for his club, but he could get a feel of the game due to his brilliant performance last weekend.

Almeria will also try to resist the opposing forces by forming a restraining side, partially organized through Pablo Piatti, Albert Crusat, Kalu Uche, Hernán Bernardello, Chico, and Diego Alves.

Naturally, with both teams having to play for specific targets, the game is likely to be quite tempting, even though it might lack of speed and accurate passes on some occasions.

In the end though, if Barcelona do not succeed in destroying their opponents with a flood of goals, they might go for a 2-0 win, or a 2-1 victory – if they concede.

La Liga Standings (top 5) – March 6, 2010

Barcelona still maintain the first place in La Liga 2 points ahead of archrivals Real Madrid, but Almeria definitely need to use more energy if they are to leave the 13th position to enter the first half of the table.

Here is how the standings in La Liga are for the top 5 clubs, as of March 6, 2010:

Barcelona – 61 points

Real Madrid – 59 points

Valencia – 46 points

Sevilla – 43 points

Mallorca – 40 points