Almeria have just three games left up in La Liga, as they are already long destined for the drop. The worst team in the Spanish top flight this season, they will have a chance to play for pride here on Thursday night when they host FC Barcelona.
Getting a result, of any sort, against one of the two clubs that comprises the El Clasico rivalry, would be huge for them.
FC Barcelona at Almeria FYIs
Kickoff: Thur. May 16, Estadi Mediterraneos, Almeria, Spain
Barca Preview Material:ย ย Team Newsย ย ย ย Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Standing, Form: Almeriaย 20th, 17 pts, LWLLDย FC Barcelona 2nd,ย 76 pts, WLWLW
Google Result Probability:ย Almeriaย 15%ย ย Drawย 18%ย ย FC Barcelona 67%
A draw against Barca would certainly be a moral victory for Almeria. Here’s the lineup that Xavi might pick in order to try and stop that.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Almeria
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, Joao Cancelo; Pedri, Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu; Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski
Prediction: FC Barcelona 3, Almeria 0
Even though the stakes aren’t that high, there is just such a massive talent disparity here that the Blaugranes should run away with this us.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes toย Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMGโs NFL Wire Networkย and theย Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.ย His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated,ย Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times.ย You can follow himย on Linked In and Twitter.
