Barcelona got things back on track in their quest for the La Liga title when they absolutely blasted Deportivo La Coruña earlier in the week, annihilating them to the tune of 8-0 after three straight league losses and getting knocked out of the Champions League. Now with the title race heating up in Spain, Barcelona need to start a winning streak -- and who should show up at the Camp Nou but Sporting Gijón, one of the teams in the relegation zone.
Barcelona vs. Sporting Gijon 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch La Liga online
Barcelona need to turn their recent win into genuine momentum as the end of the title race approaches.
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The Catalan giants need to start a winning streak right now if they’re going to assure themselves of staying in the title picture, and they need to stay laser-focused to do so. Even against smaller teams like Gijón, they can’t afford to allow any openings, to rest on their laurels, to take a step back even for a moment. If they do, their title dreams could end in an instant.
What’s at stake
Barcelona have more confidence than they did a week ago thanks to their jaw-dropping 8-0 win over Deportivo La Coruña at midweek, but their situation is little improved from what it was then. They’re still even with Atletico Madrid on points, they still have only one more point than Real Madrid. The only thing that’s improved is their goal differential, though that potentially needed tiebreaker is still four goals behind Real Madrid’s standing in that area. They still cannot afford to lose any points, and even a draw could prove disastrous.
For Gijón things are just as desperate. They are in the third and final relegation place in the table, a position they do not want any part of. Fortunately, just one point would pull them out if results elsewhere go in their favor -- Granada are only one point ahead of them and have a worse goal differential, giving Gijón a needed leg up. A loss probably wouldn’t be back-breaking for them at this stage -- that end of the table looks like it’s going to stay close until the last day of the season -- but a draw or a win would go over extremely well, both for the fans and for the team’s confidence level.
Barcelona injuries and suspensions
Out: Jeremy Mathieu, Thomas Vermaelen, Sandro Ramirez, Sergi Samper
Sporting Gijón injuries and suspensions
Out: Jony, Jorge Mere, Bernardo Espinosa, Daniel Ndi, Alberto
Match Date/Time: Sat., 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. local
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
TV: beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), Canal+ Partidazo (Spain), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: beIN Sports Connect, fuboTV (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
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