Messi scores on return from injury for Inter Miami
Lionel Messi scored on his return from injury as Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 home draw with Colorado in their Major League Soccer (MLS) clash.
Barcelona travel to Ipurua to face a tricky challenge against SD Eibar on Saturday in their La Liga match of the season. The Blaugranas continue have been hit with the injury and suspension issue and Ernesto Valverde will have a tough job ahead of him to find a starting eleven that will constantly feature for the club.
Eibar vs Barcelona match details
Date: October 19, 2019.
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Time: 4:30 PM IST.
Venue: Ipurua Municipal Stadium, Eibar.
Eibar vs Barcelona match preview
Before heading into the two-week international break, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 4-0 at the Camp Nou and with Lionel Messi back in his full-flow, the defending La Liga champions should be hoping for full points at Ipurua. But the consistent rotations of players in the starting eleven might take its toll in Barcelona’s game.
📍 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Final workout before Saturday’s #EibarBarça pic.twitter.com/EGQYOPvY4B
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 18, 2019
Meanwhile, with next week’s El Clasico being officially postponed, the Lionel Messi-led side will have to wait for another week or so to climb up to the top of the points table as Real Madrid are expected to beat an 18th-ranked RCD Mallorca and sustain their position.
Thus, it becomes more so important for Barca to take all the points from the game against Eibar. Also, Samuel Umtiti and Junior Firpo have been declared fit and have travelled with the team.
The stats between both the teams favour Barcelona heavily. They are the teams with most goals (33) against Eibar and have scored in all the last 10 matches against the Basque side.
Messi has 15 goals against them in nine matches and Luiz Suarez has seen the back of the net in his last six appearances against them. However, the last time both the teams had met, the outing ended in a 2-2 draw.
Eibar vs Barcelona probable starting XI
Eibar (4-2-3-1): Dmitrovic; De Blasis, Oliveira, Arbilla, Cote; Álvarez, Diop; Orellana, Expósito, Inui; García.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Todibo, Lenglet, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suárez, Griezmann.
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