15
18:46
Jordi Alba tanks up on his left after a somewhat lucky one-two with Ferrán Torres, but only gets a shot from a tight angle, which keeper Fernando easily absorbs.
13.
18:43
FC Barcelona are now trying to find their way into the game through possession and let the leather circulate through their own ranks for minutes. At some point, Franck Kessié starts the turbo and rushes into the penalty area, but is caught by two defenders.
11.
18:40
The home side have been the more active team so far and hardly let Barca develop. The Catalans make many bad passes and wait for the first degree.
9.
18:39
Suárez hits Christensen up front and wins the ball straight away. Almería then plays around Barcelona’s penalty area for a while but doesn’t find a gap.
6.
18:36
The climber is not hiding here in the beginning and tries to quickly bridge the midfield. Luis Suárez sends El Bilal Touré into the box, but his shot from a tight angle is blocked.
4.
18:35
Busquets stops a possible counterattack by the hosts in midfield with a jersey pluck and gets a warning. Yellow cards are awarded for the next foul of a tactical nature.
2.
18:33
The guests immediately take command. Frenkie de Jong sends Jordi Alba on his way with a fine through ball and he gives sharply inside at the top of five. A whistle sounds, however, because Alba was just offside when the ball was passed.
1.
18:31
The game is on! Almería plays in red, Barcelona wears gold.
1.
18:30
game start
18:27
The excitement is slowly but surely building at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos! Referee Miguel Ortiz Arias has just led the two starting formations onto the pitch and in a few minutes the ball is finally rolling.
18:12
Another look at the line-ups: There are three changes for the home side compared to the gossip in Girona. Chumi, Eguaras and El Bilal Touré will start for Houboulang Mendes, Samú and Adrián Embarba (all bench). Barca coach Xavi made four changes after the European Cup in Manchester. Jordi Alba, Eric García, Gavi and Ferrán Torres start for Ronald Araújo, Álex Baldé, Jules Koundé and Raphinha (all bench).
18:03
In fact, UD Almería is incredibly strong at home this season. The Andalusians scored 19 of their 22 points at home. Although they are only second to last in the table, the gap to safety is just one point. Recently, however, there was a severe setback for Coach Rubi’s team. In the promotion duel at FC Girona, Almería went down 2: 6. Nevertheless, Rubi was optimistic: “Every game starts from scratch. We can forget defeats quickly and want to give ourselves a chance to win the game today. We are sure that Barca can be beaten,” said the 53-year-old.
17:52
Coach Xavi quickly looked ahead after the Old Trafford defeat. “We still have the league and the Copa – which are essential for us. The message is clear – inside and outside the club: we want to get the league and the Copa,” said the 43-year-old. Xavi doesn’t take today’s duel in the penultimate position lightly. “They’re tough opponents, especially because they play at home. A lot of teams lost there. They can play with four or five players on a defensive line and score a lot of points at home,” said the visitors’ coach.
17:41
Although Barcelona are clearly on a master course in the league and arch-rival Real made a mistake yesterday, the mood in the club is not the best. After the Blaugranas were eliminated from the Europa League in the second round on Thursday with a 2-1 loss at Manchester United, criticism came from all sides. Marca then called the game a “disaster with consequences” and stated: “Barcelona will have problems staying the course.” The unexpectedly early exit tears another gap in the budget of the club, which is plagued by massive debts. There was also a bang in the dressing room when veteran Robert Lewandowski and youngster Ansu Fati clashed.
17:31
The conditions before this duel could not be much more different. While the home side fight against relegation as penultimate, leaders Barca could extend the lead over pursuers Real Madrid to a whopping ten points. Anything but an away win for the Catalans would be a real sensation, as Almería has never won against FCB in 15 games. Two draws have been the highest feelings for the Andalusians so far.
17:30
Hello and welcome to La Liga matchday 23! FC Barcelona take on UD Almería at 18:30 CET at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.