Eibar v Barcelona - Preview and possible lineups
We take a look ahead to Satuday's La Liga clash between SD Eibar and Barcelona at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium.
Eibar: The hosts will be without Sergi Enrich and Fran Rico (both knee), whilst defender Paulo Oliveira and winger Pedro Leon are both major doubts with muscle and knee problems respectively.
Barcelona: Barca have no new injury concerns ahead of this one and welcome defenders Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique back into the squad after they missed the 0-0 draw against Getafe due to suspension and a knee problem respectively. Centre-back Thomas Vermaelen remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, whilst manager Ernesto Valverde is expected to make some changes ahead of the Champions League clash with Chelsea in midweek.
Eibar boss Jose Luis Mendilibar:
"Against opposition like them there's no formula to it, the key is for us to just be ourselves, be assured and not have any doubts about what we have to go out there and do.
"We're feeling good, we're enjoying one of our best spells of the season and we've been performing pretty well and getting good results for a couple of months now. We know what we're coming up against. Even if we perform very well, it'll all depend on how they play.
"They're a very good side, one of the best around, with some really fine players and a great coach. At the end of the day, regardless of how well we play, if they're on top of their game, it'll be very tough for us to do anything. We'll be focusing on ourselves, trying to play our usual game and if we do that, we'll have to then see whether we've got any chance of winning the match.
"We're in good shape both mentally and physically and the players are daring enough to try and do things out on the pitch. It doesn't matter how we fare on Saturday, in our next game we'll keep doing what we do".
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde:
“Eibar are a team who put you under a great deal of pressure high up the field and they are one of the teams in the top flight who try to play the game in your half.
“They want you to play like they do, they start games well and we will have to adapt to the situation, the size of the pitch and their style above all.
"We are only thinking about the game in Ipurua. We know that it is an important match but following the draw against Getafe, the trip to Eibar is even more important.”
Form:
Possible linueps:
Eibar: Dimitrovic; Pena, Ramis, Arbilla, Cote; Orellana, Garia, Diop, Inui; Kike, Charles.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Mina, Umtiti, Digne; Busquets, Rakitic, Paulinho; Coutinho, Suarez, Messi.