Cordoba vs. Barcelona: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream & TV Info
The hosts' relegation will be confirmed if they don't pick up all three points here and only the most fervent home supporter will believe that's possible.
Cordoba haven't won a game since mid-January and have only emerged victorious on three occasions this season. Barca have lost just once in the same time frame, are in their best form of the campaign and need to win to ahead of Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.
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If the Catalans continue playing as well as their performances at Espanyol and against Getafe suggest, you fear for the green and whites who haven't recovered from a very poor start in the Spanish top flight.
Date: Saturday, May 2
Time: 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Nuevo Arcangel, Cordoba, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (Highlights only)/beIN Sports 1 (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)/beIN Sports Connect (USA only)
Form Lines
| Cordoba | Barcelona |
| L 0-1 vs. Levante | W 6-0 vs. Getafe |
| L 0-1 vs. Athletic Club | W 2-0 vs. Espanyol |
| D 0-0 vs. Villarreal | W 2-0 vs. Paris Saint-Germain |
| L 0-2 vs. Elche | W 2-0 vs. Valencia |
| D 1-1 vs. Deportivo La Coruna | W 3-1 vs. Paris Saint-Germain |
| L 0-2 vs. Atletico Madrid | D 2-2 vs. Sevilla |
Predicted Formations
As with the game against Getafe, Luis Enrique has to be looking into shuffling his pack for this one.
There's little need for Lucho to risk his main players in a game which could turn into a real blood-and-thunder 90 minutes as Cordoba look to get a win which will prolong their La Liga survival for a further week.
However there's little chance of Lionel Messi, Neymar or Luis Suarez offering to be rested in a game where they can add to their combined 102 goals.
Ex-Manchester United flop Bebe is tasked with breaking the deadlock against the Catalans, alongside a slightly more potent Nabil Ghilas. Both Marc Bartra and Jeremy Mathieu are more than capable of neutralising what little threat they will possess.
Adriano Correia keeps his place for another week with Martin Montoya given a rare start in place of Dani Alves.
Jose Antonio Romero's side will stick with the tried-and-tested 4-4-2 with Rene Krhin and Luso stationing themselves centrally to try and break up any of Barca's momentum.
Fede Cartabia might give Adriano and Andres Iniesta something to think about down the left channel, but Fede Vico shouldn't trouble Rafinha or Montoya.
Javier Mascherano, playing in his more natural defensive-midfield role, might well have one of his quieter nights.
Inigo Lopez and Deivid have had their moments in central defence this season, and as the latter showed against Villarreal, on their day the green and whites' back line can present a formidable barrier to opposition strikers.
Jose Angel Crespo and Edimar take the full-back roles but all four have got their work cut out to keep Suarez, Neymar and Messi at bay for the entire 90 minutes.
Claudio Bravo and Juan Carlos take the gloves and complete the line ups.
Player to Watch
Cordoba haven't scored more than one goal in a game since way back in November, per WhoScored.com.
Therefore the threat from the hosts, if there is going to be one, certainly won't come from the strikers.
Midfielder Fede Cartabia is the only player who continues to excel whilst all around him are losing faith. Just 22 years of age, Cartabia is putting more experienced heads to shame with an incessant desire to improve.
His driving runs into the heart of enemy territory have seen him bag four goals and five assists, per WhoScored, just about the best return in the team.
Key Battle
There's only one battle worth talking about in this one.
Cordoba goalkeeper Juan Carlos won't have faced a barrage like this all season. If he manages to keep out the triple threat of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, then he deserves the freedom of the city.
Barca's front three are virtually unplayable at the moment, Getafe being their latest victims. Even in the unlikely event that one of the three is off form on the night, the other two are likely to step up.
Despite a poor return in terms of wins, the hosts have only been well beaten just once, ironically against Barca back in December.
Much of the credit for keeping scores down must go to Carlos who's had a thankless task all season long.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available, per Odds Shark:
Home Win: +1,628
Away Win: -769
Draw: +756
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