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Eibar will play host to a FC Barcelona side that is catching some form lately, which is definitely not good news for the home team.
Eibar is on the back of a 3-2 win at Sporting Gijon and remains in the top half of the La Liga table on the 9th place, even if that was their only league win in the last 5 outings. The hosts are playing their usual brand of defensive football and it is working well for them, but it remains to be seen if will be enough against Barcelona – so far it hasn’t been, according to the Head 2 Head record.
FC Barcelona is currently riding a 3 match winning streak after struggling a bit in December and the visitors are back in the title race, trailing Real Madrid by just 5 points. Barcelona is on the back of a solid 1-0 road win against Real Sociedad in the Copa Del Rey and will look to keep the momentum going as they travel to Eibar for tonight’s clash.
Bet on Eibar vs. Barcelona and claim your 100% (100 Euro) free bet at Ohmbet now!Team news & lineups:
Ramis, Garcia, Junca, Riesgo and Arbilla are unavailable for Eibar. Barcelona will field its best lineup, with the exception of Mascherano and probably Iniesta, both injured. Rafinha is also out for the visiting team.
Eibar: Rodriguez – Capa, Santos, Lejeune, Luna – Rico, Garcia – Leon, Gonzalez, Inui – Enrich
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba – Rakitic, Busquets, Gomes – Suarez, Messi, Neymar
The visitors have found some rhythm lately with 3 wins in a row and they will look to build on that as they close in on Real Madrid. Barca can recover the 5 points separating them to the league leaders, but they definitely can not afford to drop points at Eibar if they want to remain in the title race.
Eibar was dirt poor in the last two big matches they played, losing twice to Atletico Madrid in the last two weeks: 0-2 at home and 0-3 away. With just 1 win in the last 5 La Liga games, it is doubtful they are in good enough form to challenge a team like Barcelona – especially as they do not match up well at all against their opponents.
There were four H2H meetings since Eibar got promoted and Barcelona won them all with a 12-1 goal difference, each time by a form of handicap. The last meeting was back in March at the same venue and Barcelona won 4-0.
My tip here is Barcelona to cover the -1 asian handicap. It is obviously a simple bet and the odds aren`t anything to shout about, but I feel the matchup and the H2H make an upset very unlikely. Also, Barca has been reliable away this season, posting the best road record (6-2-1) in La Liga. At the very least Barcelona should win by one, but I see them winning by 2 or 3 goals. Prediction: Eibar – Barcelona 0-2.
Pick: Barcelona (-1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.45 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 4.05
Event date: 22 January
