Barcelona striker Luis Suárez. (Photo : Getty Images)
Middling club SD Eibar (7-6-5, 26 points) will host defending champions FC Barcelona (11-2-5, 38 points) at their home field of Ipurua Municipal Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 22 as the 2016-2017 La Liga season moves forward.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 2:45 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Eibar is reeling at the moment with four winless performances in their last five matches. The team is currently settled in the ninth spot of the 20-team Spanish top flight table, only five points below the second and final Europa League qualifying spot temporarily held by Villarreal.
Los Armeros has actually snapped a four-game winless slide in their most recent La Liga fixture last Sunday after escaping with a high-scoring 3-2 win over bottom three side Sporting Gijon on the road at the El Molinon Stadium, via SkySports.
Spanish midfielder Adrian Gonzalez netted the opening goal for head coach José Luis Mendilibar's side with a spot kick in the fourth minute. However, Sporting Gijon midfielder Carlos Carmona was able to equalize the count immediately after five minutes.
Eibar scored the next two goals, courtesy of Pedro Leon and Antonio Luna in the 21st and 23rd minutes respectively, to bring a 3-1 lead at the half.
The hosts were able to trim the gap to one point with a 58th-minute goal by Nacho Cases but the visitors held on to the one-point lead at the end of the match.
Meanwhile, Barcelona is coming off a crushing 5-0 victory over Las Palmas at the Camp Nou last Saturday for their 11th consecutive unbeaten performance, BBC Sport reported.
Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez led head coach Luis Enrique's boys with a brace in the 14th and 57th minutes. Lionel Messi, Arda Turan, and Aleix Vidal scored one goal each in the 52nd, 59th, and 80th minutes respectively to complete the Blaugrana's five-goal masterpiece.
Barça has dropped to third place in the standings, though, as the team has settled for three goals in their last six outings. They are only one point behind second-place team Sevilla and two points below current league leaders and arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-0 romp by Barcelona.
Eibar starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Riesgo; Luna, Lejeune, Capa, Dos Santos; Inui, Gonzalez; Escalante, Leon, Carrillo; Enrich
Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): ter Stegen; Alba, Umtiti, Mascherano, Vidal; Rafinha, Gomes, Busquets; Turan, Messi, Suárez
