Following Gerard Pique's unexpected retirement, Barcelona welcomes newly promoted Almeria to Camp Nou in an attempt to keep the pressure on Real Madrid at the top.
The Catalan giants vented their rage on Viktoria Plzen in midweek, while the visitors won their fourth game of the season last weekend, 3-1 against Celta Vigo.
Gerard Pique, one of Barcelona's best defenders, announced his retirement on Thursday, citing the weekend's LaLiga match as his final.
The center-back joined the club in 2008 and will leave with 616 appearances, the fifth-most in club history.Pique's current manager, Xavi, is one of only four players to have played more games for Blaugrana. He rotated his team in Wednesday's Champions League dead rubber, giving four teenagers minutes in a 4-2 victory over Viktoria Plzen.
Following Real Madrid's loss to Girona last weekend, Barcelona now trails Real Madrid by one point in LaLiga.
Last time out, Robert Lewandowski scored in the 93rd minute to give Xavi's side three straight victories in the Spanish top division, with 29 goals scored and only four conceded.
After resting key players in midweek, a home match against newly promoted opponents should allow them to continue their championship push.Getafe vs. Cadiz
Getafe will host Cadiz at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday in what could be a pivotal matchup at the bottom of the 2022-23 LaLiga rankings.
The visitors will arrive in the capital fresh off an incredible 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, while the hosts are undefeated in their previous four games and haven't lost since a close loss to Real Madrid at the beginning of October.
Getafe has pulled away from the relegation zone with three wins and three draws in their last eight LaLiga games.
Los Azulones have prioritized road stability, averaging 0.33 anticipated goals per game in their previous three LaLiga games.Despite having only 28% of the ball, Enes Unal's 25-yard free kick was Madrid's only shot on target against Celta Vigo two weeks ago.
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FC Barcelona announce squad for La Liga match against Almería
The Blaugrana play their final home game before the World Cup on Saturday, when they host Almera at the Spotify Camp Nou, and Xavi Hernández has named the following 22 players for the match:
1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 2. Arnau Tenas, 36, and Iaki Pea, 26.
2. Héctor Bellern, 3. Gerard Piqué, 15. Andreas Christensen, 17. Marcos Alonso, and 18. Jordi Alba are the defenders. Eric Garca, 24, Alejandro Balde, 28, Chadi Riad, 35
Midfielders: 5th, Sergio Busquets, 8th, Pedri, 21st, Frenkie De Jong, 29th, Marc Casadó, 30th, Gavi, 32nd, Pablo Torre
Andreas Christensen has returned after missing over a month with an ankle injury, and Eric Garca has also recovered in time to compete in this one. Marc Casadó and Chadi Riad have been called up from Barça Atlètic to provide cover at the back, but Ronald Araujo (groin), Sergi Roberto (shoulder), Memphis Depay (hamstring), Jules Kounde (hamstring), and Franck Kessie (hamstring) are all out due to injury.
Starting lineup prediction (4-3-3):
Ter Stegen; Balde, Piqué, Eric, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembélé, Lewandowski, Ferran; Dembélé, Lewandowski, Ferran
The game begins at 9 p.m. CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8 p.m. GMT (UK), 4 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. PT (USA), and 1.30 a.m. IST (India, Sunday).
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