Sporting Gijon will entertain their worst nightmare on the night as they visit the Camp Nou right after Barcelona delivered one of their most crushing performances of this season as they completely annihilated Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 at their very own ground at that.
Barcelona are looking to reignite their form this season as they approach the last few games with a view to ending the season as La Liga victors, an idea that is under serious threat from a resurgent Atletico Madrid who are tied on points with Barcelona with Real Madrid only a point behind.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Sony ESPN
Date and Time: 24th April, 2016; 12:00 A.M. IST
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
Live Stream: http://www.starsports.com/football/leagues/spanish-la-liga-100054/index.html
Betting Odds: Barcelona 1/25; Draw 16/1; Sporting Gijon 33/1 via Bet365
Team News
Barcelona
Barcelona are set to field a full strength side as Luis Enrique’s men will take no risks in their efforts to seal the La Liga title as quickly as possible. With Gerard Pique returning from suspension and Dani Alves set to return to the starting line up as well, there seems to be no particular change in the offing.
Luis Suarez should be leading the line on the night after his incredible performance against Deportivo which saw him score 4 and assist another 3 out of a total 8 scored by his team.
Sporting Gijon
Antonio Sanabria and Jonny have been doubts for this game but could just about make it in time for the tie. Omar Mascarell will partner Sergi Alvarez in midfield with the option of Nacho Cases making the midfield tighter should Gijon adopt that line of play. The team faces no other real problems which affects their starting 11 otherwise.
Probable Lineups
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Sporting Gijon(4-2-3-1): Cuellar; Lora, Hernandez, Mere, Lopez; Mascarell, Alvarez; Halilovic, Cases, Jony; Sanabria
Form
Barcelona
Barcelona have had records tumble at their feet this season and the season only got better till their mini-slump in the last few weeks. That run saw them almost give away everything they had worked so hard to achieve thus far.
The Catalans might have put all of that behind them with the 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo. Whether they can continue on their destructive ways is yet to be seen.
Last 5 Matches: W-L-L-L-W (Last Match: Deportivo 0-8 Barcelona)
Sporting Gijon
Sporting Gijon have a decent run of form to bank on as they step out into the Camp Nou, but that may not be enough to take them through on this night. Gijon do however, boast of an impressive win against Sevilla in their last game and also to everyone’s surprise against Atletico Madrid in this five-game run leading up to this contest. They’ve drawn two other games with their only loss coming against Celta Vigo.
Last 5 Matches: W-D-L-D-W ( Last Match: Sporting Gijon 2-1 Sevilla)
Key Stats:
- Barcelona have been winning at half time and at full time in 7 out of their last 9 games against Sporting Gijon.
- Barcelona have won 8 of their last 9 games against Sportin Gijon in all competitions.
- Sporting Gijon have not won 12 of their last 13 away games in La Liga.
- There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Sporting Gijon’s last 6 away games in La Liga.
Key Battles:
Luis Suarez vs Jorge Mere
Luis Suarez is unstoppable at the moment. Forget that he has scored an eye-watering 30 goals and 15 assists in La Liga this season in 30 games, forget that he has another 8 goals and 3 assists in 9 games in the Champions League or another 5 in 2 from the Club world cup. Luis Suarez scored 4 and set up 3 of his team’s last 8 goals, all in one game!Superlatives fall short of this monstrous player who has definitely given the world plenty of reasons to talk about his exploits on the pitch this season rather than off it. Pitting his wits against the Uruguayan hitman will be the 19-year-old Jorge Mere who has been quite a regular in this Gijon side. The center back is having a decent season but how he emerges from this game may go a long way in telling him which direction he should move in from here on.
Lionel Messi vs Isma Lopez
You would have thought Lionel Messi went through hell as he watched his own slump in form coincide with his team nearly bottling their season. Out of the UEFA Champions League and La Liga nearly slipping through their grips, the last game was a subtle reminder of how Lionel Messi can change gears when the going seems to be the toughest. Lionel Messi is back at his scoring best and should look to carry on the job against Gijon as well.
Isma Lopez has his work cut out as the left back can expect to be in for a torrid night as this is a Barcelona side looking to reassert their supremacy in the final run of games in the league and Lopez could either do the unthinkable and stop Messi as he returns to form or maybe just give in to the irresistible Argentine.
Prediction
That the game is at Camp Nou, makes this an easy prediction. Sporting Gijon do have a shock in them but it is hard to see them pull off one in this particular game. Barcelona are too strong.
Barcelona 4-1 Sporting Gijon
Betting odds
Barcelona – 1/25
Draw –16/1
Sporting Gijon – 33/1
