PREVIEW | FC Barcelona v Almería

Wednesday at 7pm brings the final league fixture of 2023 in which FC Barcelona have a golden opportunity to collect some much-needed points against a side, Almeria, that has yet to register a single win this season.

But with just one win from their own last four matches, the Catalans are in no position to be complacent. Although a draw at Valencia is by no means a poor result, the two dropped points have widened the gap between Barça and the top of the table, and a run of positive results is the only way to re-engage with the battle for the title. And that begins by making sure of three points from a game that may not be so simple as it looks on paper.

How it stands

After Girona comfortably saw off Alavés on Monday evening, there are now nine points between Barça and their fellow Catalans, the surprise leaders as La Liga reaches its halfway stage. Real Madrid also got the job done against Villarreal, winning 4-1 on Sunday, and they are now seven points clear of Barça. At least Atlético Madrid were beaten, meaning Barça have climbed up to third, although that may be a double-edged sword because the side they lost to, Athletic Club, are now part of the Champions League equation too.

Both Girona and Real Madrid play on Thursday, and are both away from home, the former at Betis and the latter at Alavés, presenting a possible opportunity for Barça to make up some lost ground.

Almería in the doldrums

This has been a difficult season for Wednesday's visitors, who have managed nothing better than five draws so far, although two of them, 0-0 against Betis and Mallorca, were in their last three games, suggesting a slight improvement. All the same, they are still very firmly rooted to the bottom of the table with by far the poorest goal difference (-22) in the championship.

To add to their woes, they got knocked out of the Copa del Rey by fourth-tier outfit Barbastro, the same side that Barça will now be facing in the round of 32.

And history also points in Barça's favour. In 14 league meetings over the years, Barça have won 11, drawn two and only lost once. However, that solitary Almería victory came in the very last meeting between the sides, when El Bilal Touré scored the only goal at the Power Horse Stadium last February.

Games where Barça have played at home have thus far produced nothing but wins for the Catalans, seven out of seven, and a return of 21 goals for and just two against.

Team news

The bad news from Tuesday training was that Pedri had taken a knock and would not be able to play in today's game. The absence of the young midfielder adds to the difficulties of already having to make do without long-term absentees Gavi and Ter Stegen, as well as Iñigo Martínez and Marcos Alonso, neither of whom have recovered in time from their own fitness issues.

And to make matters worse, Frenkie de Jong is suspended for this one, so Xavi will have a lot of thinking to do with regard to his midfield.

It means Xavi has once again had to turn to the reserve and youth squads, with Ander Astralaga, Marc Casadó, Diego Kochen, Pau Cubarsí, Unai Hernandez, Marc Guiu, Hector Fort and Pau Prim all called up for duty.

Luis Suárez is a name that Barça fans know well, but his Colombian namesake and Almería's main striker has been ruled of this game through injury. Familiar faces in the ranks of the second youngest squad in la Liga include Sergio Akieme (formerly of Barça B), Edgar González (who spent some of his formative years in La Masia) and 'Chumi' (who once played a Copa del Rey game for the Barça first team).

Xavi says

Speaking the day before the game, Xavi promised the kind of 'conviction' that he feels has been lacking of late, and accepted that Barça only have themselves to blame for the  gap that has built up between themselves and the front two clubs. A gap, however, that he fully believes that his team are more than capable of cutting down: