Barcelona vs Almeria LIVE Football Score 26 Feb 2023

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.

Last Friday, Rubi’s side suffered a 6-2 defeat to Girona, and they now have back-to-back home matches against Barcelona and Villarreal before travelling to Sevilla in the middle of next month.

Almeria’s home form is likely to be crucial when it comes to their battle against the drop, and they actually have the eighth-best record in front of their own fans this season, picking up 19 points from 11 matches, which is one more point than Atletico Madrid have collected at Wanda Metropolitano.

Barcelona, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff on Thursday night, which saw them eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.

Robert Lewandowski sent Xavi’s side ahead from the penalty spot at Old Trafford, but Fred levelled the scores early in the second half before Antony won it for the Red Devils, and it was Barcelona’s first defeat in any competition since the 3-0 home reverse to Bayern Munich at the end of October.

The Catalan outfit are therefore now battling on two fronts, with the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid at Bernabeu set for March 2.

Barcelona are also in an excellent position in La Liga, collecting 59 points from their 22 matches, which has left them eight points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Xavi’s side have won each of their last seven league matches, including a 2-0 success over Cadiz last weekend, with the team last dropping points in the league against Espanyol at the end of December.

Blaugrana have won each of their last seven La Liga fixtures against Almeria, meanwhile, including a 2-0 victory when the two teams last locked horns at Camp Nou back in November.