FC Barcelona vs Eibar Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Oct 22, 2015 @ 12:25 am

Next Sunday, 25th of October 2015, the current Spanish champions, Barcelona, will measure forces with SD Eibar at the emblematic Camp Nou for Round 9 of Liga BBVA.

Barcelona’s travel to Belarus was anything but a walk in the park. The current Champions League holders went to the break with nothing better than goalless draw and only managed to break the deadlock thanks to a scorcher from Ivan Rakitic in the beginning of the second-half. The Croatian midfielder was, in fact, the man of the match, as he also netted the Catalan team’s second goal twenty minutes later.

Last weekend, Barcelona also experienced some problems during the first-half to overcome Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. The Madrid outskirts’ team started the match at full steam with Javi Guerra opening the score on the 15th minute. Rayo’s goal caught Barça by surprise but the Catalan team managed to bounce back a few minutes later thanks to two Neymar goals from the penalty spot. The flamboyant Brazilian forward had a memorable night after netting four of Barcelona’s five goals.

For the predictably complicated match against SD Eibar next Sunday, Barça’s boss, Luis Enrique, is not yet certain if he will be able to rely on the contribution of Sergi Roberto, who sustained a muscle injury against FC BATE Borisov last Tuesday’s night. Iniesta, Rafinha, Vermaelen and Messi are also sidelined as they are still recovering from their long term injuries.

As for SD Eibar, the Basque country side has been having an extremely positive season start and are currently on the 7th place of the league table with the same points of Deportivo La Coruña.

Last Friday, SD Eibar conceded their fourth draw of the season when they hosted UEFA Europa League holders, Sevilla. The Armeros got an early lead at Ipurua against Sevilla thanks to an early goal from the Spanish wonder kid Borja Baston, who has already scored 5 goals in 8 matches this season.

When SD Eibar visited Camp Nou last season, they ended up being hammered 3-0, but this time things might be different, since, with the arrival of the new manager, José Luis Mendilibar, and several new players, the team is far more solid and consistent than they were last term.

Barcelona

Stats: W-4 L-1 D-0

Recent Form - WWLWW

SD Eibar

Stats: W-1 L-1 D-3

Recent Form - DWDDL

Possible Line-ups

Barcelona (4-3-3) - Bravo - Alves - Pique - Mathieu - Jordi Alba - Busquets - Rakitic - Mascherano - Neymar - Suarez - Ramirez

SD Eibar (4-2-3-1) - Riesgo - Capa - Dos Santos - Pantic - Junca - Escalante - Garcia - Inui - Adrian - Berjon - Baston

Injury List / Suspended Players Barcelona - Rafinha (inj) - Messi (inj) - Vermaelen (inj) - Iniesta (inj) - Sergi Roberto (in doubt)

SD Eibar - Luna (inj) - Jimenez (inj) - Ramis (in doubt)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions