Overview
Barcelona's leading gap in the rankings has narrowed from 4 points to only 1 point in the previous round, after Real Madrid defeated Levante, and coach Hansi Flick's team unexpectedly lost to Real Sociedad with a score of 1-2.
That was Barcelona's first defeat in La Liga since the end of October, although they quickly regained their spirits with a 4-2 victory over Slavia Prague in the Champions League in the middle of the week, thereby moving closer to the goal of finishing the group stage in the top 8.
Barca will close the Champions League group stage with a reception of Copenhagen at Camp Nou on January 28, but for now, their top priority is still the domestic front. In this round, Real Madrid has temporarily risen to the top after a victory over Villarreal.
Despite continuing to show impressive attacking power, Barcelona has revealed worrying problems in defense. The Catalan team has conceded 22 goals in La Liga - the highest number in the top 5 leading teams - and this situation is becoming even clearer in the Champions League arena.
In the first leg of the season, Barcelona won 3-1 against Real Oviedo. However, the last time the two teams met at Camp Nou, in May 2001, they witnessed a minimal 1-0 victory for the away team.
It is undeniable that this is a challenging season for Real Oviedo, which is somewhat understandable when they have just returned to La Liga for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. The blue team has only won 2 matches, drawn 7 and lost 11 after 20 rounds, at the bottom of the table with only 13 points.
Oviedo is currently 7 points behind the safe zone and is the team with the fewest goals in the tournament, with only 11 goals since the beginning of the season. They have also gone through three generations of coaches in a season, with Guillermo Almada taking over the hot seat last month.
Under the 59-year-old strategist, Oviedo has not yet won any, but has shown signs of recovery when drawing three and losing only one in the last 4 matches. In fact, they have only lost two in the last six rounds in La Liga, although the last victory was still the 2-1 victory over Valencia from the end of September.
Personnel situation
Barcelona will be without 4 players due to injury in the upcoming match, including Gavi and Andreas Christensen (knee), Pedri (strap) and Ferran Torres (muscle).
However, the Catalan team also received an important boost in force when Lamine Yamal qualified to return after suspension, causing him to be absent from the victory against Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
The absence of Pedri is likely to force Hansi Flick to pull Eric Garcia into the central midfield. In attack, Robert Lewandowski still holds the spearhead role, while Marcus Rashford is predicted to continue to start the match on the bench.
In the opposite direction, Real Oviedo entered the away match with a relatively stable force situation. The blue shirt team welcomed the return of David Carmo after suspension.
Ovie Ejaria and Eric Bailly are still facing fitness problems and their ability to play is still uncertain, but coach Guillermo Almada does not have to face any more injuries or suspensions before the trip to Camp Nou.
Expected lineup:
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde, E. Garcia, De Jong, Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
Real Oviedo: Escandell, Vidal, Carmo, Costas, Alhassane, Colombatto, Sibo, Hassan, Reina, Chaira, Vinas.
The match between Barcelona and Real Oviedo takes place at 10:15 PM on January 25 (Vietnam time).
