As FC Barcelona head into the final three matches of the season, starting with a visit to Almeria, they have just three injury concerns. Frenkie de Jong (ankle), Alex Balde (thigh) and Gavi (anterior cruciate ligament rupture) all remain out for the season.
Although they do have four players who are one more booking away from getting suspended.
FC Barcelona at Almeria FYIs
Kickoff: Thur. May 16, Estadi Mediterraneos, Almeria, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Standing, Form: Almeria 20th, 17 pts, LWLLD FC Barcelona 2nd, 76 pts, WLWLW
Google Result Probability: Almeria 15% Draw 18% FC Barcelona 67%
Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen are all sitting at four yellow card infractions, so one more for any of them, and they’ll draw a suspension.
Barca will take on the bottom side, in Almeria, this mid-week. The Catalan Club is still playing for something, sort of, as they leap-frogged Girona to go back into second place last weekend.
They’re only one point ahead of Girona right now and with three to play, it remains to be seen who will finish runner-up to Real Madrid.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.