Barcelona vs. Sporting Gijon: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
With their startling loss of form now behind them after the emphatic 8-0 victory over Deportivo in midweek, Barcelona now have to prove that things really are back to normal when they play host to relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon on Saturday night.
Potentially entering the game having been knocked off the top of the table by Atletico Madrid, Luis Enrique will expect nothing less than a convincing victory as his side bid to banish the memory of back-to-back home La Liga defeats.
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And Sporting could well be in for a difficult evening if Barca’s big-hitters are determined to pay back their supporters for those losses to Real Madrid and Valencia, especially with the visitors on a run of just one win in their last 14 away games, of which 10 were defeats.
Anything but another convincing Barca victory seems highly improbable here, but we’d have said that on a couple of other occasions over the past month or so.
Date: Saturday, April 23
Time: 7.30 p.m. BST / 2.30 p.m. ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
TV Info: Sky Sports 1
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last 6 Results
Barcelona
Lost 2-1 vs. Real Madrid
Won 2-1 vs. Atletico Madrid
Lost 1-0 vs. Real Sociedad
Lost 2-0 vs. Atletico Madrid
Lost 2-1 vs. Valencia
Won 8-0 vs. Deportivo
Sporting Gijon
Lost 1-0 vs. Malaga
Won 2-1 vs. Atletico Madrid
Drew 0-0 vs. Levante
Lost 1-0 vs. Celta Vigo
Drew 1-1 vs. Las Palmas
Won 2-1 vs. Sevilla
Team News
Barcelona
The small nature of Barcelona’s squad has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as they have allowed their title rivals back into the La Liga race following a series of below-par performances.
Despite Marc Bartra scoring at the Riazor, Gerard Pique will surely return to the side here having missed the win over Deportivo through suspension. Other than that there doesn’t seem to be much else that Luis Enrique can do to change things up, with all of his big hitters fit and available after coming through the Deportivo match unscathed.
Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu will still be out of the squad through injury, although Arda Turan should return to the bench after missing the trip to La Coruna through illness.
Possible XI: Bravo, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Neymar, Messi, Suarez.
Sporting Gijon
Sporting boss and former Barcelona defender Abelardo has tried everything he can to come up with a formula to move his side away from the foot of the table, but he might be placated by the fact that on the rare occasions his team have won this season they have done so impressively.
Their four victories in 2016 were a 5-1 win over Real Sociedad, a 1-0 success at Valencia, a 2-1 victory over title-chasing Atletico Madrid in which they scored twice in the final 11 minutes and their Wednesday night win against Sevilla when Isma Lopez grabbed the winner in stoppage time.
Omar Mascarell should return to the side after being suspended for the clash with Sevilla in midweek, and Abelardo could give midfielder Carlos Carmona a start as he seeks to flood that area in a bid to stifle the hosts.
Possible XI: Cuellar, Lora, Hernandez, Jorge Mere, Isma Lopez, Alvarez, Mascarell, Carmona, Perez, Jony, Sanabria.
Key Players
Barcelona: Ivan Rakitic
It is clear that to appease any mounting nerves that Barca’s home fans may have they are going to need to get the ball into their famed front three as often as possible, and midfielder Ivan Rakitic will be a key part of doing just that.
Also, Barca are likely to face the type of blanket defence they’ll be used to coming up against when they play at home, and so the Croatian’s ability to get into the box and on the end of chances looks like it’ll be crucial.
Sporting Gijon: Jony
A former youth player at Barcelona between 2008 and 2010, these days the winger Jony is just another example of a player who has dropped out of the Camp Nou academy but managed to make a career for himself elsewhere.
A few years spent bouncing around the lower leagues ended when Sporting were promoted last season, and if they aren’t going to return to the Segunda Division immediately then he could do with improving his meagre goal record of just three strikes all season.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Barcelona—1/11
Sporting Gijon—16/1
Draw—10/1
