?Barcelona will try to bounce back from their disappointing Clásico defeat last weekend when they host Real Sociedad on Saturday evening.
The 2-0 loss meant that they gave up top spot in the table to Los Blancos and a win will be essential if they are to maintain a title challenge.
Sociedad, meanwhile, just won their Copa del Rey semi-final against Mirandés and currently are in sixth place. A win would put them level for third place in the league with Sevilla.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
Where to Watch
| ?When is Kick Off? | ?Saturday 7 March |
| ?What Time is Kick Off? | ?17:30 (GMT) |
| ?Where Is it Played? | ?Camp Nou |
| ?TV Channel/Live Stream? | beIN Sports |
| ?Referee? | ?Juan Martinez Munuera |
Injury Updates
?Barcelona have only a few injuries to contend with for this weekend. Forwards ?Luis Suárez (knee) and ?Ousmane Dembélé (hamstring) are long-term absentees, while ?Sergi Roberto has an abductor problem and will also be unavailable.
Sociedad similarly only have three on the injury list, with two impacting their midfield. Central-midfielders Asier Illarramendi (ankle) and David Zurutuza (achilles) are both ruled out for Saturday, along with centre-back Diego Llorente, who has a muscle problem.
Predicted Lineups
| ?Barcelona |
?Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakiti?, Busquets, de Jong; Griezmann, Messi, Vidal |
| ?Real Sociedad |
?Remiro; Zaldúa, Elustondo, Le Normand, Monreal; Ødegaard, Zubeldia, Merino; Januzaj, Willian José, Oyarzabal |
Head-to-Head Record
The two sides played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring before goals from Antoine Griezmann and Suárez gave Barça the lead. Yet their one-goal advantage was cancelled out by Alexander Isak’s late equaliser that earned the Basque club a point.
Recent Form
Barça have endured a mixed run of form. Having swatted Eibar aside in a 5-0 thumping, this was followed by a 1-1 draw at ?Napoli in the ?Champions League, before their 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid.
Sociedad meanwhile have won their last six games, including an impressive 3-0 victory over Valencia.
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Here’s how both sides have fared in their last five games.
| ?Barcelona |
Real Sociedad |
| ?Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (1/3) | ?Mirandés 0-1 Real Sociedad (4/3) |
| ?Napoli 1-1 Barcelona (25/2) | ?Real Sociedad 1-0 Valladolid (28/2) |
| ?Barcelona 5-0 Eibar (22/2) | ?Real Sociedad 3-0 Valencia (22/2) |
| ?Barcelona 2-1 Getafe (15/2) | ?Real Sociedad 2-1 Mirandés (13/2) |
| ?Real Betis 2-3 Barcelona (9/2) | ?Real Sociedad 2-1 Athletic Club (9/2) |
Prediction
Sociedad are in hot form right now and will travel to face a vulnerable Barcelona, who will be licking their wounds from the defeat to Madrid.
But you would expect the Blaugrana to put in a strong performance and take three points to keep up their hopes of a ?La Liga triumph at the end of the season.
?Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad
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