Barcelona welcome Almeria to Catalonia on Wednesday during the final round of La Liga fixtures before the winter break.
With 17 matches in the books, third-placed Barca find themselves seven points shy of second-placed Real Madrid and nine points behind surprise leaders Girona.
🎯⚽💥#VamosAlmería pic.twitter.com/rdPa8ICkzp— UD Almería (@UDAlmeria_Eng) December 18, 2023
🎯⚽💥#VamosAlmería pic.twitter.com/rdPa8ICkzp
By contrast, Almeria are rooted to the foot of the table – eight points from safety – having failed to pick up a single victory in 2023-24.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia on Saturday, despite racking up 64% possession and 16 shots at the Mestalla.
Following defeats to Girona and Royal Antwerp, Xavi’s side head into Wednesday’s clash on a three-game winless run across all competitions.
In La Liga, Barca kicked off their campaign with a 10-game unbeaten streak, but they have recorded three wins, two draws and two losses since then.
That said, the Catalans will be confident of returning to winning ways, having won 10 of their 12 home matches this season.
Meanwhile, Almeria managed to record a goalless draw against Mallorca last time out, despite conceding 20 shots while registering a solitary attempt on target.
That was the winless club’s fifth La Liga draw of the campaign, meaning they have suffered 12 defeats this season.
Although Almeria have scored more goals than six teams in the division, they possess the worst defensive record in Spain’s top flight.
To make matters worse for Almeria, they have lost each of their previous seven away league outings, conceding a whopping 20 goals in the process.
Head-to-head: It is worth remembering that Almeria claimed a shock 1-0 victory over Barcelona when the team last met back in February.
That said, Barca have lost just one of their previous 16 meetings with Almeria, securing 13 wins along the way.
Team news: Frenkie de Jong is suspended for Barcelona, while Gavi, Marcos Alonso, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Inigo Martinez are injured.
As for Almeria, Lucas Robertone is suspended, with Ibrahima Kone, Marko Milovanovic, Marc Pubill, Luis Suarez and Martin Svidersky on the treatment table.
Given that Almeria are still waiting to taste victory this season, we should see a straightforward home win in Catalonia on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that Barcelona will score over 2.5 goals on their way to dispatching Almeria, whose winless stretch looks set to continue into 2024.