 |
| ©GettyImages |
After the devastating news of Gerard Pique's shocking retirement, FC Barcelona welcomes Almeria to the Spotify Camp Nou, as they look to keep the pressure on Real Madrid at the top.
It has been another rollercoaster week at Barcelona, as one of the club's greatest-ever defenders, Gerard Pique, announced his retirement on Thursday evening, citing the weekend's upcoming LaLiga fixture as his last-ever appearance at Camp Nou.
Having joined the club in 2008, the centre-back will leave the club with 616 appearances in all competitions, making him the fifth-highest appearance-maker in the club's history.
In La Liga, FC Barcelona are currently right behind arch rivals Real Madrid after they slipped up against Girona last weekend, with the gap now down to one point at the top of LaLiga.
Robert Lewandowski scored a 93rd-minute winner at Mestalla last time out, as Xavi's men made it three consecutive wins in the Spanish top flight, with 29 goals scored and just four conceded in their 12 outings so far.
Able to rest key players in midweek, a home clash against newly-promoted opposition should provide the perfect opportunity to keep up their title charge.
Their opponents are doing pretty well in LaLiga aswell, as a 3-1 win over Celta Vigo last weekend lifted the club to 13th in the standings.
Although Xavi had a lot of players rotated out of the line-up, they still suffered concerning injuries, as Franck Kessie suffered a thigh injury in Plzen and had to be withdrawn after 67 minutes.
Sergi Roberto (shoulder), Ronald Araujo (thigh) and Eric Garcia (groin) are others who will miss out due to injury, while Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Memphis Depay may be fit enough to make the bench.
Regardless, Gerard Pique will certainly start in the centre of defence, as he bids goodbye to Camp Nou once and for all.