Barcelona confirmed XI & injury update against Almería in LaLiga match day 18

Lying in a state somewhere between hopelessness and despair: Barça and Almería close out their LaLiga year holding hands (KO 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.), with both teams’ goals are far away in the distance. The Catalans dream of defend the league title, but are nine points behind the impressive Girona; Almeria just want another year in the top division.

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The side from the south have not won a game in 17 and are dangerously close to the worst-ever record of Sporting Gijón, who took 24 games to get their first victory in the 1997-98 season.

Almería manager Gaizka Garitano has, so far, not fixed anything that Vicente Moreno might have been doing wrong, taking just two points from a possible 24. As such, another rolling head on the Almería bench cannot be ruled out which, accompanied by a miracle in the January market, would allow them to dream of another year in the league, despite how far that idea may seem from anyone with the arms long enough to even think about grabbing it (follow the match live with AS USA).

Barcelona cannot afford to take the game for granted

Pessimism has also settled in Cataluña. With Girona (9) and Madrid (7) both just out of reach, the champions have no other choice but to mount a memorable comeback if they want to repeat their title victory. Xavi Hernández, who spoke before the game, believes that the calendar over the next two months can help them get back into the fight, but the mood in the camp is not ideal.

Barça are one of the worst teams across the five major European leagues in terms of effectiveness - and it’s not just a question of accuracy. Barça’s play has not evolved as their coaches had hoped and, despite the titles won last season, there is a feeling that the fans are falling out of love with what’s going on.

Tonight is likely to present a cold picture in the Montjuïc freezer. A minimum temperature of 4ºC is predicted, on a par with the team’s lacklustre play.

Despite the opponent’s position, Barça cannot take the three points for granted: they have not won by more than one goal in 17 matches. Almeria also managed to get Atletico into trouble with a five-man defence and have various players who, on their day, can be a mencae: Ramazani, Arribas, Embarba and Baptistao, to name a few.

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Who will play for Barcelona against Almería?

With De Jong suspended and Pedri injured, Xavi will have to rejig the midfield with Romeu and Fermin. Lewandowski is in very poor form but is untouchable, at least until Vitor Roque arrives. If Xavi and Barça are to have a quiet holiday season, they need to not only win but also entertain. A bad result would mean that everyone’s emotions would be running high on the plane crossing the Atlantic to Dallas ahead of the game against Club América.

The year could not have ended in a worse way for Pedri. The midfielder has muscular discomfort in his right leg after a knock and was forced to leave the training session, the club confirmed in a statement. As things stand, it is not a serious injury, so the initial prognosis is about two weeks in the physio room.

Which players are injured or suspended for Barcelona?

However, news station TV3 reported yesterday that the Super Cup is in danger for the midfielder, and he will not play against Almería today. Pedri’s history of muscular injuries forces the club to be very cautious when it comes to giving timescales on his return, since the tendency has been for Pedri to miss the deadlines set by the doctors and staff at the club.

This season Pedri has already been out for almost three months due to an injury and now he set for another period on the sidelines. He joins Gavi, Ter Stegen, Íñigo and Marcos, Alonso who are out due to injury and De Jong, who will miss out due to suspension.