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FC Barcelona (8th, 17pts) vs Real Sociedad (1st, 26pts) *
* Points and positions at the time of writing
Competition / Round: 2020-21 The league, Matchday 14
Barcelona departures and doubts: Ansu Fati, Gerard Piqué, Sergi Roberto, Ousmane Dembélé
Real Sociedad Departures and Questions: Aritz Elustondo, Mikel Oyarzabal, David Silva
Date and Time: Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 9:00 p.m. M. CET / WAT (Barcelona and Nigeria), 8 p. M. GMT (UK), 3 p. M. ET, 12 p. M. PT (USA), 1.30 a. M. IST (India, Monday)
Venue of events: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (US and Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), Not available (India), others
How to transmit: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (US), Premier Player (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others
First things first, Renato is going on vacation for a few days, so unfortunately you will have to put up with me for this …
Anyway, let’s get started. Barça returns to action in La Liga on Wednesday against Real Sociedad, which leads the table, at the largest stadium in the world.
Ronald Koeman’s men edged out Levante last time out, which should provide a bit of momentum and confidence and they’ll probably need everything they can to take all three points away from Real Sociedad.
In this same encounter last season it was a late penalty from Lionel Messi that made the difference between the two teams. However, Imanol Alguacil’s men can arrive with a bit more confidence this time around given their strong start to the season and Barca’s disappointing form.
However, injuries to key players could help Barcelona a bit. Aritz Elustondo, Mikel Oyarzabal and David Silva could be lost, although it should be noted that Real Sociedad has become specialists in draws in recent weeks.
La Real have been contested quite impressively in their last six games in all competitions, and their last La Liga win was against newly promoted Cádiz in November. Of course, that’s more than Barça could achieve, Ronald Koeman’s team was beaten 2-1 in Andalusia.
Again, this is a game where Barca cannot afford to spend points if they want to have any chance of fighting for the title. In fact, a victory would place them six points behind Real Sociedad, with two games less. A great incentive, if one was needed, for Koeman and his men to put on a show.
Let’s do it.
POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, De Jong; Messi, Griezmann, Pedri; Braithwaite
Real Sociedad (4-2-3-1): Remiro; Gorosabel, Le Normand, Sagnan, Monreal; Merino, Zubimendi; Portu, Lopez, Janzuaj; José.
PREDICTION
This is a difficult one, but a victory could be a great help for Barça. Home comforts mean I go 2-1 to hosts.
