Barcelona will be bidding to return to winning ways when they resume their La Liga campaign away to relegation-threatened Almeria on Sunday night.

The Catalan outfit are currently top of the table, eight points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while Almeria occupy 17th, level on points with 18th-placed Cadiz on the same number of games (22).

Almeria secured a return to La Liga for the 2022-23 campaign by winning last season’s Segunda Division, and they are bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns at this level for the first time since 2015.

La Union have picked up 22 points from their opening 22 matches of the season, which has left them in 17th position in the table, level on points with 18th-placed Cadiz.

Almeria only lost one of their six league matches between November 9 and January 27, but they have been beaten in each of their last three, losing to Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis and Girona.

While only goal difference separates Almería from the drop zone, they were still just three points adrift of Sevilla in 12th ahead of this round, highlighting the current tight nature of the La Liga (LL) relegation scrap. As a result, halting a run of three consecutive losses could be crucial here, with manager Rubi asking fans “for forgiveness” after their 6-2 defeat to Girona last time out.

Despite those troubles, Almería have enjoyed playing on their own turf this season, with their 19 points on home soil a total bettered by just six sides in the division ahead of the weekend. However their last four LL games at home have yielded just a single win (D1, L2), and that poor run could continue against Barcelona, as Almería have faced them more times without winning in LL (D2, L11) than any other opponent. That includes Almería’s joint-heaviest defeat ever, an 8-0 loss at this venue back in November 2010.

After conceding four goals to United across two games, Barça will be happy to get back to league commitments having conceded just seven goals after 22 matches, which is the lowest by any side at this stage of a Spanish top-flight campaign.

An eighth consecutive LL win for the first time since January 2019 could begin to heal the wounds of their European exit, and they may not mind a close affair either, as five of Barça’s last seven away league wins have been by a slim 1-0 scoreline.

Key battle: El Bilal Touré has seen his last three LL home goals help Almería pick up seven points, but here he will be up against Barça’s Marc-André ter Stegen, who has 17 clean sheets, the most by any goalkeeper after the first 22 games of a LL season.

Hot stat: Rubi has lost all of his seven managerial matches against Barcelona, six by at least a 2+ goal margin.

Almeria La Liga form:

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Almeria possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Mendes, Ely, Babic, Chumi; Robertone, De la Hoz, Costa; Puigmal, Suarez, Toure

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; F de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, F Torres

This has the potential to be a very tricky match for Barcelona off the back of a European affair, but Almeria’s recent form has been disappointing, and we are finding it tough to back anything other than an away victory on Sunday night, as the Catalan outfit will be fired up to return to winning ways.