With a comprehensive home victory against Manchester United sealing their spot in the last four of the Champions League, Barcelona return to the Liga title race looking to plant a hand on the trophy when they host Real Sociedad.
Ernesto Valverde's side, inspired by the ageless Lionel Messi once more, blew away the Red Devils at Camp Nou on Tuesday to stretch their undefeated run to 19 games across all competitions.
They will look to complete the domestic league double over their visitors, who they came from behind against to prevail in a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture last September.
But Imanol Alguacil, who has lost only three games since taking the helm in December, may feel optimisitc that his side can take something away from their trip to the league leaders.
Game | Barcelona vs Real Sociedad |
Date | Saturday, April 20 |
Time | 7:45pm BST / 2:45pm EST |
Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
US TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
beIN SPORTS | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on ITV 4. It can be streamed via Eleven Sports.
UK TV channel | Online stream |
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ITV 4 | Eleven Sports |
Squads & Team News
Position | Barcelona squad |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Ter Stegen, Cillessen |
Defenders | Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Sergi Roberto, Umtiti, Jordi Alba |
Midfielders | Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal, Alena, Arthur |
Forwards | Messi, Suarez, Coutinho, Malcom, Dembele |
Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Vidal, Arthur; Messi, Dembele, Suarez.
Position | Real Sociedad squad |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Moya, Rulli |
Defenders | Zaldua, Llorente, Moreno, Elustondo, Navas, Le Normand, Hernandez, Munoz |
Midfielders | Zubeldia, Merino, Oyarzaba, Pardo, Sangalli, Muguruza |
Forwards | Juanmi, Jose, Bautista, Ramirez |
Real Sociedad starting XI: Rulli; Zaldua, Llorente, Zubeldia, Juanmi, Merino, Oyarzabal, Willian J, Pardo, Aritz, Munoz
Betting & Match Odds
Barcelona are priced as odds-on 2/9 favourites, according to bet365. Real Sociedad are 12/1 outsiders, while a draw can be backed at 11/2.
Match Preview
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With their first semi-final appearance in the Champions League for four years secured thanks to a 3-0 demolition of Manchester United at Camp Nou on Tuesday, Barcelona are flying high as they look to keep their dreams of a treble on track.
Ernesto Valverde’s side ensured that it was a return to forget for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Catalan city and now return their attentions towards domestic concerns.
With a Copa del Rey final against Valencia and a European date with Liverpool both on the distant horizon, the more pressing matter of securing another La Liga crown will be at the forefront of their coach’s mind.
They welcome mid-table stragglers Real Sociedad on Saturday as they look to stretch a 19-game unbeaten streak even further; though they will be wary of any potential upset despite entering the game as overwhelming favourites.
Imanol Alguacil has only seen his slide slip to defeat on three occasions since taking the helm in December, with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in January arguably the pick of his tenure so far.
He was not in charge for his side’s 2-1 loss earlier this season in September against Barcelona, when a quickfire blast from Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele just after the hour-mark saw Aritz Elustondo’s early effort cancelled out.
Having given most of his major stars the weekend off seven days ago between European legs, Valverde may opt to switch things up again – though he will be hard-pressed to leave out the hungry Lionel Messi.
The Argentine has arguably delivered some of his best football this season, spurred on by a tough World Cup campaign in Russia, and looks to be the likely frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or again with less than four months of the year gone.
With his career showing no signs of slowing down, the 31-year-old will be comfortably up for the challenge of securing some further history with the club he has always called his professional career home.