Barcelona travel against Almeria at the Power Horse Stadium in La Liga on Thursday, with the home side already relegated to the second tier. Xavi’s side are second, but know that Real Madrid are already champions, while Pepe Mel’s men are at the bottom of the table and have been doomed since last month. With 22 defeats from their last 35 matches, this is a mismatch in the form book, with Barca looking for a tenth away win of the season so far.
The Andalusians have conceded 70 goals so far and have the worst defensive record in the Spanish top flight with eight draws and nine defeats in 17 home games. They haven’t won at home all season, but they did beat Barça 1-0 last year. Second place will seal a Spanish Super Cup place for the Catalans and a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad further helped that cause. This could be a top-two finish of 16 for the Blaugrana, and a record of eight wins from nine over Almeria suggests it will be more of the same.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday May 16 | Time: 3:30 PM ET
- Place: Power Horse Stadium – Almeria, Spain
- Watch: ESPN+ and Fubo (try for free)
- Chances: Almeria +600; Sign +450; Barca -275
Team news
Almeria: Iddrisu Baba is doubtful while Largie Ramazani is suspended, although Aleksandar Radovanovic could return from injury. Cesar Montes is back from his suspension and should be at the heart of the defense together with Chumi.
Potential Almeria XI: Maximiano; Pubill, Montes, Chumi, Langa; Edgar, Robertone; Romero, Viera, Embarba; Lozano.
Barca: Gavi and Frenkie de Jong are out, while Ronald Araujo is doubtful after missing Sociedad. Alejandro Balde is staging his return, but remains far away while Ilkay Gündogan is suspended, which could give Fermin Lopez the chance to step in. Lewandowski is three goals behind Girona’s Artem Dovbyk in the race for the Pichichi Award, so the Poland international needs a productive season to burst.
Potential Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Cancelo; Pedri, Christensen, Fermin; Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
Prediction
This should fit the form, so expect Barca to be a goal or two ahead of Almeria to retain second place. Choose: Almeria 0, Barca 2.
