La Liga: Almeria vs Barcelona Live
Preview: Almeria vs Barcelona
Almeria vs Barcelona is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30pm at the Power Horse Stadium. The Barca team enters the match in second place, while the home team is struggling at the bottom of the standings.
After allowing two goals in the first half-hour, Almería, who have already been relegated, suffered a 3-2 defeat to Real Betis over the weekend, failing to secure their third win of the season. With only pride and the chance to move above Granada in the standings motivating them, Almería is keen to avoid making history by finishing the season with just 17 points, a record low in La Liga this century.
Their two wins this season have come away from home, so the team is eager to give their home fans something to celebrate as the season comes to a close. However, a three-game losing streak, including two matches where they played with ten men, makes this a challenging task, especially with Barcelona as their upcoming opponent.
Barcelona secured a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad with goals in each half, marking only their second win in five matches. This win puts Barca in control of their fate as they compete with Girona for second place. Xavi’s team must remain focused and avoid complacency as they aim to return to winning ways on the road after losing their last two away matches against Real Madrid and Girona. Failing to do so could lead to an unwanted record, as Barcelona has not lost three consecutive away league games since December 2002.
Head-to-head
Barcelona has only been defeated once in their history when playing against Almeria. In the most recent match between the two teams earlier this season, Barca won 3-2. Barca has remained undefeated in nine out of the ten matches they have played at Almeria’s home venue.
Prediction
Almeria has scored in their past five matches, so they might feel confident about scoring against Barcelona in Thursday’s game. Despite this, even if the home team manages to score, we anticipate Barca will have plenty of chances to secure a straightforward victory against the league’s bottom team.
