As of now, Barca are sitting at the summit of the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 59 points from 22 games, eight clear of the chasing pack.
Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways when they travel to Estadio Mediterraneo for the La Liga fixture against Almeria on Sunday evening. The Catalan outfit suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the second leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday, and thereby got eliminated from the competition. The hosts, meanwhile, are heading into the match on the back of a 6-2 league-defeat against Girona last Friday. As of now, Barca are sitting at the summit of the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 59 points from 22 games, eight clear of the chasing pack. The Rojiblancos, on the other hand, are languishing at the 17th position, with just 22 points to their name, level on points with 18th-placed Cadiz, who are occupying the final relegation spot.
🎙️ Xavi on #AlmeríaBarça: “They’re strong at home.” pic.twitter.com/XaKQwYDND6
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 25, 2023
Almeria, who returned to the La Liga for the 2022/23 season by winning last season’s Segunda Division, are going through a bit of a rough patch, having lost each of their last three games, this month. Last time out, Rojiblancos lost to Girona, despite the fact that Largie Ramazani and El Bilal Toure got on the scoresheet at Montilivi. It was their 12th league-defeat of the campaign. Meanwhile Rubi’s side’s last win came against Espanyol (3-1) at home late in January, courtesy of goals from Luis Suarez, Leo Baptistao and Francisco Portillo. Almeria have the eighth best record in front of their home fans, having picked up 19 points from 11 matches on home soil.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have the best away record in the league, having won 10 of their 11 games on the road. Last Sunday, Xavi’s side defeated Cadiz 2-0 at Camp Nou, thanks to first-half efforts from Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski. It was their eighth consecutive league-win. Four days after that, Blaugrana traveled to Old Trafford for the second of their Europa League tie and lost the match despite taking the lead through Robert Lewandowski’s penalty kick. Barca suffered a 4-3 aggregate loss and their European journey came to an abrupt end. The Catalan outfit are therefore now battling on two fronts, with the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid at Bernabeu set for March 2. Xavi’s side are also in an excellent position in the La Liga, eight points adrift of the reigning champions Real Madrid at the second spot.
Almeria probable line-up: Martinez, Mendes, Ely, Babic, Chumi, Robertone, De la Hoz, Costa, Puigmal, Suarez, Toure
Barcelona Probable line-up: Ter Stegen, Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba, D de Jong, Busquets, Gavi, Raphinha, Lewandowski, F Torres
Almeria
Opponents | Score |
Girona | 6-2 (L) |
Betis | 2-3 (L) |
Rayo Vallecano | 2-0 (L) |
Espanyol | 3-1 (W) |
Valencia | 2-2 (D) |
Barcelona
Opponents | Score |
Manchester United | 2-1 (L) |
Cadiz | 2-0 (W) |
Manchester United | 2-2 (D) |
Villarreal | 0-1 (W) |
Sevilla | 3-0 (W) |
Last 5 match-results | Score |
Barcelona beat Almeria | 3-0 |
Barcelona beat Almeria | 4-0 |
Barcelona beat Almeria | 1-2 |
Barcelona beat Almeria | 4-1 |
Barcelona beat Almeria | 0-2 |
The La Liga match between Almeria and Barcelona will take place at Estadio Mediterraneo on Sunday at 11:00 pm IST.
Almeria vs Barcelona | Key Details |
Date | February 26 |
Venue | Estadio Mediterraneo |
Kickoff time in Spain | 6:30 pm |
Kickoff time in India | 11:00 pm |
The live telecast of the La Liga Matches in India is available on the Sports 18 network. Fans will also be able to live stream through Jio TV. Besides, the match between Almeria and Barcelona can also be seen on the Movistar network in Spain.